Issey Miyake
Issey Miyake Inc. · Japan
Issey Miyake is the Japanese fashion company built on the studio founded in Tokyo in 1970 by designer Issey Miyake, who died in 2022. Operated by Issey Miyake Inc., it is known for technology driven textiles such as Pleats Please and for a portfolio of lines including Homme Plissé, A-POC ABLE and Bao Bao.
| Founded | 1970, Tokyo |
|---|---|
| Founder | Issey Miyake (1938 to 2022) |
| Company | Issey Miyake Inc. |
| Headquarters | Tokyo, Japan |
| Paris debut | 1973 |
| Signature line | Pleats Please, since 1993 |
| Website | isseymiyake.com |
What is Issey Miyake?
Issey Miyake is a Tokyo based design company whose work combines clothing, textile research and industrial processes. Its founder, born in Hiroshima in 1938, became one of the most influential designers of the twentieth century, and the company continues to develop his ideas through a family of brands.
History
Miyake founded his studio, the Miyake Design Studio, in Tokyo in 1970 and first showed in Paris in 1973. His experiments with pleating led to Pleats Please, released in 1993 using a patented garment pleating technique. In 1998 he introduced A-POC, a concept for making garments from a single piece of cloth. Fragrances followed in the 1990s, starting with L'eau d'Issey, produced under a long term agreement with Shiseido's Beauté Prestige International division.
Miyake gradually handed design responsibility to a team: Naoki Takizawa, Dai Fujiwara and later Yoshiyuki Miyamae and Yusuke Takahashi led collections while he oversaw the direction of all lines. He received the Praemium Imperiale in 2005 and died in Tokyo on 5 August 2022, aged 84.
Products and positioning
- Issey Miyake: the main collection
- Pleats Please and Homme Plissé: pleated lines for women and men
- A-POC ABLE, 132 5. and IM MEN: concept driven lines
- Bao Bao: bags with geometric tiles
- Partnerships: fragrance, watches and eyewear
Business model and distribution
Issey Miyake Inc. sells through its own stores in Japan and abroad, its online store and selected retail partners, and extends the brand through partnerships for fragrance, watches, eyewear and footwear.
Issey Miyake and technology
Material and process innovation is central to the brand. Pleats Please relies on garments being cut and sewn before pleating, and A-POC uses industrial knitting and weaving to produce a garment in one process, a precursor to later discussions about on demand and low waste manufacturing.
Why it matters
Issey Miyake shows how a design house can build durable businesses on manufacturing innovation and continue after the death of its founder through a team based model.
Frequently asked questions
Who owns Issey Miyake?
The brand is operated by Issey Miyake Inc., the Japanese company that grew out of the studio Issey Miyake founded in Tokyo in 1970. Fragrances are produced under a long term agreement with Shiseido's Beauté Prestige International.
What is Issey Miyake known for?
Issey Miyake is known for technical textile innovation, above all the permanently pleated Pleats Please line launched in 1993, the A-POC concept and Bao Bao bags.