Issey Miyake

The work of Issey Miyake is not like many other fashion designers that I have looked at as his work is so bold with such strong geometric shapes that it can almost be considered as art rather than fashion. The lines he uses make such interesting shapes that some of his designs don't resemble traditional garments at all but are still fully wearable. An example of this is the Spring/Summer 1995 collection where the shaping of the dresses looked so solid that they almost didn't look as though they were still made from fabric. Even in the second photo where the dress is not worn by anyone it still looks so beautiful it can be viewed and appreciated as a standalone piece, proving that fashion design doesn't always have to be about creating something that can be worn everyday.

 

I particularly like Issey Miyake's work from his Pleats Please label as the methods of pleating he has been experimenting with over the years give many of the garments such beautiful contrasts. This image below is from a page in the Pleats Please catalogue and is a perfect example of the contrast between bold geometric lines and the softness the pleats add to the fabric. I also like how the pieces from above and these here show the same aesthetic of Miyake's design work whilst being total opposites in the sense that one is so high fashion and the other can be worn in everyday life.

After looking at type in Visual Communications and understanding more about different typefaces I particularly liked this range from the collection as it shows how type can be used within fashion. Having worked with type blocks and printing inks before I really like how that same effect has been recreated on these garments but on such a large scale that the print doesn't just look like a random placing of letters. The monochrome colour scheme could be quite plain on some garments but on these it works so well as where the type overlaps the colour is darker with solid black trims on the base to balance out the white background.