Glossary

Womenswear (brands currently in operation bolded)

Miyake Design Studio: 1970

• Issey founded his studio in Japan after spending the years immediately after graduation in Paris and New York

Issey Miyake: 1971

• Presented his collection in 1971 in New York and in Paris from 1973 on. From the beginning, Issey’s philosophy on making clothes is guided by the concept of “a single piece of cloth” and the relationship between the body and the material that covers it, and the space born between the two

Issey Sport: late 1970s (likely around 1977)

• A line of casual items most famously known by the “IS” logo. Chisato Tsumori—another well-established Japanese designer—began her career as an assistant designer for I.S. and eventually became head designer. The line was renamed I.S. Chisato Tsumori Design in 1983. At the encouragement of Issey, her mentor, she left the company in 1990 to start her own eponymous line

HAI Sporting Gear: 1977–1990s

• Established within the Miyake Design Studio umbrella, a line of casual items–not unlike the feel of Issey Sport—co-developed by Japanese innerwear giant Wacoal. While no official documentation of the brand is available online from either companies, the lineup included various outerwear (bombers, chore jackets, denim jackets), sweatshirts, and tee shirts, often with the brand logo and name printed prominently at the back, akin to sports club or college paraphernalia

Plantation: 1981

• An exploration of clothes for everyday with an emphasis on natural fibers, simple and loose silhouettes for any body type, gender, or age. Plantation currently exists under the company A-net (established 1996), part of the larger Issey Miyake brand group

Issey Miyake Permanente: 1985–likely 1990s

• Offered variations on the clothing and designs that came into existence during the development of Issey Miyake mainline

IM Design Studio: 1990s

• A lifestyle brand under that included items such as towels, handkerchiefs, swimwear, neckties, underwear, aprons, shirts, sleepwear, leather, luggage, and other accessories

Pleats Please Issey Miyake: 1993–

• While Issey had already begun experimenting with pleating in 1988, Pleats Please launched in 1993 after extensive research and development. The label focuses on functionality and versatility for everyday life, a new wardrobe for the modern woman. The offerings are incredibly vast: a rainbow of colorways, staple silhouettes, new silhouettes, ever-evolving materials and treatment, artist collaborations…

A-POC / A-POC ABLE: 1998–

• With designer Dai Fujiwara, Issey developed A-POC, or A Piece of Cloth, combining engineering and design. Now called A-POC ABLE, Yoshiyuki Miyamae leads a team of engineers focused on multidisciplinary innovation

HaaT: 2000–

• Makiko Minagawa, legendary textile director for Issey Miyake, is at the helm of textile-focused HaaT as Creative Director. The brand name is a three-way play on words bringing together three similar-sounding words from three different cultures: “haat,” the word for village markets in Sanskrit; “haath,” the word for hands in Hindi; “heart” in English

me ISSEY MIYAKE: 2000–

• Features items that have been pleated horizontally and vertically that feels even lighter, yet denser, than the traditional pleats. Focuses on color and often features novelty prints

Fete: 2004

Bao Bao Issey Miyake: 2010–

• Lanched under Pleats Please in 2000 and became a standalone brand in 2010. Triangular pieces, made out of vinyl resin, form the basis of the designs and are patched onto a soft mesh base, allowing for the bag to mold and create “infinite versatile shapes”

132 5: 2010

• A brand born out of Issey’s work with “Reality Lab,” a part of Miyake Design Studio comprised of employees of all generations. Starting in 2007, the team embarked on research and development of items that take into consideration the environment and natural resources while also working with computer scientists on creating the distinct foldable shapes. “The brand name refers to the way a piece of cloth (“1D”) takes on a three-dimensional shape (“3D”) and is then folded into a flat surface (“2D”), and the way that wearing it transforms it into a presence that transcends time and dimensions (“5D”).”