Colloquially called "The Oscars of Design," the Design Museum of London Design Awards are prestigious accolades given in six categories to the most innovative and inspiring designs of the year — and this year's top honors in the fashion category went to Japan's own Issey Miyake and his team of boundary-pushing researchers dubbed the "Reality Lab".

The award is somewhat of a coup, considering who Miyake was up against: Sarah Burton for Kate Middleton's royal wedding dress, the Alexander McQueen "Savage Beauty" exhibition at The Metropolitan Museum in New York, and Vivienne Westwood's Ethical Fashion Africa Project, being just a few.

Miyake may not have the buzz or star power of the former designers, but he has certainly changed the way we think fashion should be constructed and worn.