Issey Miyake: influences, peers and legacy

Every connection with its receipt

Issey Miyake built a practice where textile engineering mattered more than silhouette, pulling from Paris couture training, Japanese craft, and sculpture. This mix traces the pleating lineage he inherited, the Tokyo and Paris scenes he moved between, and the technologists who followed him. Each slot offers several routes into the same territory.

The Kynda mix for Issey Miyake

• Key Influence · Givenchy Haute Couture by Hubert de Givenchy (1968). After studying graphic design at Tama Art University, Miyake went to Paris in 1965 to the Chambre Syndicale de la Couture school, then apprenticed at Guy Laroche and afterwards at Givenchy. Givenchy's discipline of cut and his architectural, minimal daywear gave Miyake the couture grammar he would spend a career dismantling, replacing tailoring's internal structure with the behaviour of cloth itself.
• Influencia Obscura · Delphos gown by Mariano Fortuny (1909). Fortuny's patented, permanently crinkled silk column hung from the shoulders and moved with the wearer rather than sculpting her, the exact premise Miyake pursued industrially. Where Fortuny pleated finished silk by secret hand process, Miyake's team cut garments oversized then heat-pressed polyester so pleats became permanent, an inversion that produced Pleats Please in 1993.
• Local Roots · Kenzo Jungle Jap collections by Kenzo Takada (1970). Takada arrived in Paris in 1965, the same year as Miyake, and opened his shop in 1970, a year before Miyake founded the Miyake Design Studio in Tokyo. The two were the first Japanese designers to crack the Paris system, using kimono-derived flat cutting and bold textile pattern against French tailoring, and their success opened the door for the wave that followed in 1981.
• Beyond the Medium · Akari light sculptures by Isamu Noguchi (1951). Noguchi's collapsible washi-and-bamboo lamps fold flat and expand into volume, the same logic Miyake applied to garments that pack into an envelope and spring open on the body. Miyake knew and admired Noguchi's work, and Noguchi's fusion of craft materials with industrial reproducibility is the clearest non-fashion parallel to Pleats Please and A-POC.
• Peer · Destroy / Lace collection (Comme des Garçons Paris debut) by Rei Kawakubo (1981). Kawakubo's Paris debut, shown alongside Yohji Yamamoto, was dubbed 'Hiroshima chic' by hostile critics and detonated Western ideas of finish and fit a decade after Miyake had begun questioning them. Miyake, Kawakubo and Yamamoto formed the trio that redefined 1980s fashion, sharing Tokyo infrastructure, textile mills and an anti-body-conscious stance.
• From the Canon · Pleats Please by Issey Miyake (1993). Developed through years of testing at Miyake Design Studio, the line reversed garment-making order: pieces were cut and sewn two to three times oversized, then fed through a heat press between paper so polyester held permanent pleats. The result was washable, packable, weightless clothing that needed no ironing, and it made technical textile research the centre of a fashion house.
• Key Collaborator · Issey Miyake Photographs by Irving Penn by Irving Penn (1988). From 1986 Penn photographed Miyake's collections for more than a decade, working from garments shipped to New York without Miyake present, then sending back images that shaped how the clothes were understood. Penn's stark studio light turned the pleated and moulded pieces into abstract forms, and Miyake often adjusted designs after seeing the results.
• Legacy · Crystallization by Iris van Herpen (2010). Van Herpen's practice, built on 3D printing, laser cutting and collaborations with architects and scientists, extends Miyake's premise that new garments come from new making processes rather than new shapes. Miyake's decades of mill research and his A-POC machine-knitting experiments established the template for a fashion house run partly as a materials laboratory.

What influenced Issey Miyake

• Mariano Fortuny. Critic credits Miyake with reinventing Mariano Fortuny's pleating technique, implying influence. (also via Pleats Please, Delphos gown) “San Francisco Chronicle fashion editor Sylvia Rubin credited Miyake together with Babette Pinsky with "reinventing" the Mariano Fortuny pleat.” (Wikipedia)
• Isamu Noguchi. Miyake was directly inspired by sculptor Isamu Noguchi's sense of fun and novelty. (also via Peace Bridges, Hiroshima, Akari light sculptures) “From a young age, Miyake respected artist Isamu Noguchi , whose novelty and sense of fun in his designs inspired Miyake.” (Wikipedia)
• Geoffrey Beene. Miyake worked for designer Geoffrey Beene in New York. “worked on Seventh Avenue for designer Geoffrey Beene” (Wikipedia)
• Grace Jones. Jones's visuals made her a muse for Issey Miyake. “I wear his clothes every day to this day, and even those pieces I've worn for years still surprise me,” Jones recalled in her 2015 autobiography, I’ll Never Write My Memoirs .” (Harper’s Bazaar)
• Guy Laroche. Miyake apprenticed under Guy Laroche as assistant designer in Paris. (also via Guy Laroche Couture) “he enrolled in the Chambre syndicale de la couture parisienne school in Paris and was apprenticed to Guy Laroche as assistant designer” (Wikipedia)
• Hubert de Givenchy (1927). Miyake worked closely under Hubert de Givenchy sketching for him. (also via Givenchy Haute Couture) “He also worked with Hubert de Givenchy , drawing 50 to 100 sketches daily.” (Wikipedia)
• Elsa Schiaparelli (1890). Miyake's pleated works are compared as following Schiaparelli's earlier innovation. “She made garments from crumpled rayon 50 years before Issey Miyake produced similarly pleated and crinkled pieces.” (Wikipedia)
• Akari light sculptures by Isamu Noguchi (1951). Akari light sculptures (Isamu Noguchi) — culture for Issey Miyake “From a young age, Miyake respected artist Isamu Noguchi, whose novelty and sense of fun in his designs inspired Miyake.” (en.wikipedia.org)
• Madeleine Vionnet. Miyake cited Madeleine Vionnet's geometric cloth techniques as an inspiration. “He was also inspired by fashion designer Madeleine Vionnet 's use of geometric calculations and "a single piece of beautiful cloth".” (Wikipedia)
• Constantin Brâncuși. Miyake stated he was influenced by sculptor Constantin Brâncuși. “he mentioned that he was influenced by sculptors such as Constantin Brâncuși and Alberto Giacometti” (Wikipedia)
• Alberto Giacometti. Miyake stated he was influenced by sculptor Alberto Giacometti. “he mentioned that he was influenced by sculptors such as Constantin Brâncuși and Alberto Giacometti” (Wikipedia)
• Row House in Sumiyoshi by Tadao Ando (1976). Row House in Sumiyoshi (Tadao Ando) — culture for Issey Miyake “21 21 Design Sight (a play on 20/20 vision) is a museum-style research center for design, constructed by Tadao Ando, that was opened in Roppongi, Tokyo in March 2007.” (en.wikipedia.org)
• Delphos gown by Mariano Fortuny (1907). Delphos gown (Mariano Fortuny) — ghost for Issey Miyake “San Francisco Chronicle fashion editor Sylvia Rubin credited Miyake together with Babette Pinsky with "reinventing" the Mariano Fortuny pleat.” (en.wikipedia.org)
• Givenchy Haute Couture by Hubert de Givenchy (1968). Givenchy Haute Couture (Hubert de Givenchy) — titan for Issey Miyake “He also worked with Hubert de Givenchy, drawing 50 to 100 sketches daily.” (en.wikipedia.org)
• Guy Laroche Couture by Guy Laroche (1966). Guy Laroche Couture (Guy Laroche) — titan for Issey Miyake “After graduation, he enrolled in the Chambre syndicale de la couture parisienne school in Paris and was apprenticed to Guy Laroche as assistant designer.” (en.wikipedia.org)
• Rhythm in Space (Kinetic sculpture) by Naum Gabo (1985). Rhythm in Space (Kinetic sculpture) (Naum Gabo) — ghost for Issey Miyake

Peers and kindred spirits

• Irving Penn. Miyake had a 13-year collaboration with photographer Irving Penn. (also via Issey Miyake Photographs by Irving Penn) “For 13 years from 1986, Miyake collaborated with photographer Irving Penn .” (Wikipedia)
• Miyake Issey Foundation. Miyake founded the Miyake Issey Foundation in Tokyo in 2004. “The Miyake Issey Foundation, founded in Tokyo in 2004, operates the 21_21 Design Sight center” (Wikipedia)
• Nobuyoshi Araki. Miyake's Guest Artist series included collaboration with Nobuyoshi Araki. “the other artists were Nobuyoshi Araki , Tim Hawkinson , and Cai Guo-Qiang” (Wikipedia)
• Tim Hawkinson. Miyake's Guest Artist series included collaboration with Tim Hawkinson. “the other artists were Nobuyoshi Araki , Tim Hawkinson , and Cai Guo-Qiang” (Wikipedia)
• Lucie Rie. Pottery artist Lucie Rie's ceramic buttons were incorporated into Miyake's designs. “She presented him with her archival ceramic buttons, which he integrated into his designs.” (Wikipedia)
• Miyake Design Studio. Miyake founded the Miyake Design Studio in Tokyo. “he founded the Miyake Design Studio, a high-end producer of women's fashion.” (Wikipedia)
• Yasumasa Morimura. Miyake's Guest Artist series first collaborated with Yasumasa Morimura. “The first collaboration was with the photographer and collage maker Yasumasa Morimura” (Wikipedia)
• The Loss of Small Detail by William Forsythe. Miyake designed costumes for William Forsythe's dance work The Loss of Small Detail. “Miyake designed costumes of permanently pleated ultra-featherweight polyester jersey for William Forsythe 's The Loss of Small Detail” (Wikipedia)
• Cai Guo-Qiang. Miyake's Guest Artist series included collaboration with Cai Guo-Qiang. “the other artists were Nobuyoshi Araki , Tim Hawkinson , and Cai Guo-Qiang” (Wikipedia)
• Ron Arad. Miyake collaborated with designer Ron Arad on A-POC Trampoline, linked to Arad's Ripple chair. “A-POC Trampoline – ensemble of jacket, pants, jacket, and stole created with Ron Arad that also form a cover for Arad's Ripple chair.” (Wikipedia)
• Steve Jobs. Miyake designed the black turtlenecks that became Steve Jobs' signature look. “Miyake went on to produce the black turtlenecks which would become a part of Jobs' signature attire.” (Wikipedia)
• Rei Kawakubo (1942). Pleats Please (Issey Miyake) — geography for Rei Kawakubo (via Pleats Please, Destroy / Lace collection (Comme des Garçons Paris debut)) “Japanese Fashion Designers: The Work and Influence of Issey Miyake, Yohji Yamamoto and Rei Kawakubo.” (en.wikipedia.org)
• Peace Bridges, Hiroshima by Isamu Noguchi (1952). Peace Bridges, Hiroshima (Isamu Noguchi) — geography for Issey Miyake “From a young age, Miyake respected artist Isamu Noguchi, whose novelty and sense of fun in his designs inspired Miyake.” (en.wikipedia.org)
• Destroy / Lace collection (Comme des Garçons Paris debut) by Rei Kawakubo (1981). Destroy / Lace collection (Comme des Garçons Paris debut) (Rei Kawakubo) — peer for Issey Miyake “Japanese Fashion Designers: The Work and Influence of Issey Miyake, Yohji Yamamoto and Rei Kawakubo.” (en.wikipedia.org)
• Issey Miyake Photographs by Irving Penn by Irving Penn (1988). Issey Miyake Photographs by Irving Penn (Irving Penn) — collaborator for Issey Miyake “For 13 years from 1986, Miyake collaborated with photographer Irving Penn.” (en.wikipedia.org)
• Yohji Yamamoto Fall/Winter 1997 (photographic campaign) by Nick Knight (1997). Yohji Yamamoto Fall/Winter 1997 (photographic campaign) (Nick Knight) — collaborator for Issey Miyake
• Kenzo Jungle Jap collections by Kenzo Takada (1970). Kenzo Jungle Jap collections (Kenzo Takada) — geography for Issey Miyake
• Yohji Yamamoto Spring/Summer 1983 by Yohji Yamamoto (1983). Yohji Yamamoto Spring/Summer 1983 (Yohji Yamamoto) — peer for Issey Miyake

Who Issey Miyake influenced

• Zaha Hadid (1950). Hadid names fashion designer Issey Miyake as someone she admires and whose clothes she wears. “Issey Miyake, particularly, I have a tremendous respect for him and Yorji(ph).” (Fresh Air (NPR))
• Crystallization by Iris van Herpen (2010). Crystallization (Iris van Herpen) — legacy for Issey Miyake
• Craig Green Spring/Summer 2018 by Craig Green (2018). Craig Green Spring/Summer 2018 (Craig Green) — legacy for Issey Miyake