Issey Miyake, who died Aug. 5 of cancer, was a true visionary. His passion knew few bounds. The world is familiar with his signature pleats, but his legacy extends far beyond what hangs on clothes racks in shops and homes.
From the start of his international career in the 1970s, Miyake was relatively indifferent to runway trends. Always careful to call his work “clothing” and not “fashion,” he constantly experimented with materials and construction to conceive countless innovative garments, accessories and installations.
Miyake’s meticulously designed ready-to-wear lines turned him into a household name, and a bankable brand. Debuting in the early 1990s, the heat-pressed micro-folds of his Pleats Please was a breakthrough textile — minimalist, elegant, durable and extremely easy to care for. His more recent popular Bao Bao bags, launched as part of Pleats Please in 2000, brought engineering acumen and sculptural forms to totes and other daily accessories.