Issey Miyake

1995

Science TT505 M59 HP94

[Cologne]: Benedikt Taschen

Issey Miyake (b. 1938) was born in Hiroshima, Japan and was present during its bombing in 1945 – an experience which profoundly influenced his life and work. After graduating from the Tama Art University in Tokyo he worked in Paris and New York in the late 1960s. His move back to Japan and the establishment of his design studio in 1970 coincided with a cultural revolution in which Japan ‘was re-establishing its direction’ and becoming a ‘major manufacturing force’ (Holborn, 1995). Miyake’s designs are informed by his preferences for simplicity, practicality, movement, and function; pleats are part of his signature look. This image was taken during an exhibition of his work in Amsterdam in 1990.