Who designed Steve Jobs’ black turtleneck
Who played an Key role in Barack Obama‘s visit to Hiroshima
who broke down the border between East and West

Issey Miyake appeared on the cover of the world-famous French magazine 'Le Monde'

Japanese artist Issey Miyake, the world-famous designer for Steve Jobs’ black turtleneck and the women’s bag ‘Baobao’ made of triangular-shaped shiny materials, has passed away.
 

On the 9th, Japanese media such as NHK reported that he died of cancer on the 5th.

Born in 1938, he was a freshman in elementary school when the atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima in August 1945. A victim of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima, he played a pivotal role in leading former US President Barack Obama's visit to Hiroshima in 2016.

After graduating from Tama Art University in Tokyo, he worked as an assistant designer for Guy Laroche and Hubert de Givenchy in Paris, France in 1965 before moving to New York, USA. In 1971, he launched the Miyake Design Studio in Tokyo, a luxury brand named after him in Tokyo.

Issey Miyake’s first collection began in New York in 1971. Issey Miyake’s design focused on the concept of ‘a piece of cloth’. His method has been loved across generations with the concept of the body, the fabric covering it, and the comfortable relationship between the two’. In this way, he broke the boundaries between East and West.

He is credited with creating universal women’s clothing that can be wrapped around the body with a single piece of cloth. His method is a pleated design using a traditional Japanese ‘origami’ technique.

‘Pleats Please’, his representative work of ladies’ apparel released in 1993, received the spotlight in the industry because it was comfortable to wear regardless of body type.

In addition, the women’s bag ‘Baobao’, which is made of triangular-shaped shiny materials, was also popular in Korea and around the world. The outer shape of this bag changes depending on what is put inside.

He is also known for designing Steve Jobs’ trademark ‘black turtleneck’. In the Pleats Please Guest Artist Series No.1 held in 1997, he said, “The essential participant in my design process is the customer who wears the costume. When I make something, it’s half-finished. As people use it for years, my artwork is complete.”  

Photo by Tom Coates

Steve Jobs wearing the signature turtleneck created by Issey Miyake.

When asked, “Is it fashion art?” he answered, “I resist calling myself an artist. For me, The difference between art and clothes is whether they are objects to be admired on a wall or clothes that are worn frequently. My clothes are clothes that consider the intersection of fashion and art.”

He made a mark in the world fashion world by embodying the signature technique that combined craft, art and fashion.

Issey Miyake was awarded the Order of Culture in Japan in 2010 and the Order of the Legion d'Honneur in France in 2016.

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