Project Overview

An exhibition devoted to designer Issey Miyake will run from Wednesday, March 16 to Monday, June
13, 2016 at the National Art Center, Tokyo. The Center has considered design to be an important
exhibition theme since it opened in 2007 and is devoted to presenting a wide range of artistic
expressions and proposing new perspectives. This exhibition, MIYAKE ISSEY EXHIBITION: The Workof Miyake Issey, promises to be an unprecedented event, focusing on the entirety of Miyake’s
45-year career, from 1970 to the present.

Miyake has consistently presented new methodologies and possibilities for making clothes, while
always focusing on the future. It all began in 1960 when Miyake, a student at Tama Art University,
sent a letter to the World Design Conference, which was being held for the first time in Japan thatyear. The letter took issue with the fact that clothing design was not included in the event. At thatpoint, Miyake’s notion that clothing is not merely “fashion” – i.e., something that changes with thetimes – but a form of design that is closely connected to our lives on a much more universal level
was already apparent. Miyake has always explored the relationship between a piece of cloth andthe body, and the space that is created as a result, unrestricted by any existing framework. In
addition, along with his team of designers, he persistently undertakes research and development
to create clothing that combines both innovation and comfort.

This exhibition will shed light on Miyake’s ideas about making things and his approach to design by
examining his entire career, from his earliest work to his latest projects, and his explorations ofgreater creative possibilities in the future. This exhibition will provide viewers with an opportunity
to expand the boundaries of their thought and stimulate their creativity, allowing everyone, young
and old alike, to experience the joy of creation.

Profile: Issey Miyake
Clothing designer. Born in Hiroshima Prefecture in 1938. Established the Miyake Design Studio in 1970.
Began participating in the Paris Collection in 1973. By applying ideas associated with traditional techniques andcutting-edge technology to the concept of “a piece of cloth,” Miyake has continually created unique clothing.
Awarded the Order of Cultural Merit in 2010.

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Exhibition Highlights◎ Displaying Miyake’s Ideas about Making Clothes
Acutely aware of temporal and social needs, Issey Miyake makes clothes that place the utmost
importance on human beings. This is evident from Miyake’s comment that he hopes “to makeclothes like jeans and T-shirts that many people can wear freely.”◎ Tradition and the Latest Technology
While making the most of traditional techniques and craftsmanship in his clothing designs, Miyake
has continually strived to develop new materials and methods. These attempts led to epochal
designs unlike conventional approaches to making clothes, such as PLEATS PLEASE and A-POC,
adding another level of brilliance to people’s daily lives. For the first time ever, we present the
production process Miyake uses to make his pleated products.

◎ Display and Visual Design by Taku Satoh ／Spatial Design by Tokujin Yoshioka using “Grid Bodies”
The graphic designer Taku Satoh’s display design（Room C）will function as a place of discovery
where viewers can both enjoy as well as gain a deeper understanding of Miyake’s approach to
making clothes. In addition, Satoh’s visual design will convey the unique allure of Miyake’s clothing.
In Rooms A and B whose space is designed by Tokujin Yoshioka, Miyake’s clothes are exhibited on
the new “Grid Bodies” especially designed for the exhibition by Yoshioka.

◎ Exhibition Catalogue with Photographs of Every WorkA catalogue, featuring photographs by Hiroshi Iwasaki will be published by Kyuryudo Art
Publishing Co., Ltd. in a bilingual edition with texts in Japanese and English.

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Outline

The work of Issey Miyake spawns over forty years of intense experimentation with a keen attention to thehuman factor. With both striking coherence and a constant eagerness to test new solutions, in fabric-making
as well as in clothes-making - the two activities being intrinsically intertwined in his views of bold innovator Issey Miyake has developed a unique body of work, at once formally inventive, soulful and pragmatic. He is a
designer, first and foremost: he makes things. Issey Miyake creates wearable solutions to basic human needs.
That's what clothes, far from being an expression of status, wealth or even sex appeal, represent for him.
Over the years, Issey Miyake has staged numerous exhibitions as a way to mark the turning points in his
ongoing research. MIYAKE ISSEY EXHIBITION: The work of Miyake Issey is, so far, the most comprehensive
overview of the Issey Miyake oeuvre as a whole, and, as such, it is the first of its kind. With its vastness,
depth and detail, it shows the basic principles of Issey Miyake's design drive and the ever-evolving
solutions he has developed. Just like the previous exhibitions, it keeps an active outlook, marking the
beginning of a new phase.
Issey Miyake's work stems from a challenging yet elementary question: how to wrap the body, which is three
dimensional, with fabric, which is two dimensional, without forgetting that the body is also alive and moving.
Issey Miyake's answers raise topics such as freedom, invention, cultural cross-pollination, innovation,
tradition, environmental awareness. All this is intertwined in a profoundly cohesive gamut of different
creations. Issey Miyake's work is, metaphorically speaking, a piece of cloth, just as much as using pieces ofcloth has been his main creative challenge over the years.
The exhibition is divided into three rooms.

Room AThe body is the starting point of all the design
practices related to clothing. As a tangible presence,
it makes designs come alive through gestures,movement, postures. Issey Miyake has always put
the body, its physicality as well as its needs, at thecenter of his design activities. However, right fromthe beginning of his career, his views on the matter
have never been predictable. He trained in couture in
Paris, in fact, but he was a graduate in graphic
design: his take on clothes-making is singular forDNA. For Issey Miyake, the dialogue between bodyand clothing consists at once of presence andabsence, in the sense that the shape of the clothingis created by the body itself, only when it is worn,with the space between cloth and body being ofuttermost importance. A dress might appear as aformal abstraction when laid flat, only to reveal its
purpose when worn, the balance of pragmatism andinvention being a veritable Issey Miyake signature.

ISSEY MIYAKE, Tatoo,
Spring / Summer 1971, 1970
Photo: Hiroshi Iwasaki

ISSEY MIYAKE, Linen Jumpsuits,
Spring / Summer 1976, 1975
Photo: Hiroshi Iwasaki

Issey Miyake's early design solutions are explored in Room A, drawing, visually, a long introductory line tothemes that will resurface, differently yet regularly. What is immediately clear is that every step was madepossible by constant innovation in fabric-making, matched by a deep respect for traditions.
Issey Miyake founded the Miyake Design Studio in 1970, focusing on ideas of freedom - of thought and body.
He created a jumpsuit with a tattoo motif that looked literally like a wearable second skin, and a multi-size
handkerchief dress made of just three squares of fabric joined on the bias; a cocoon coat swept diagonallyaround the body and a linen jumpsuit was cut in the entire width of the fabric. The free-form shapes tookdifferent meanings on different bodies, thus making the wearer more important than the actual clothes - anadamant freedom principle for Issey Miyake. Also, those shapes were either the result of fabric research or
traditional weaves seen anew.

Room BThe human body, intended as a presence to enhance,
streamline and redesign, is central in the work of
Issey Miyake, in the Eighties in particular. Invention
never happens in a void: Issey Miyake was reacting,with his personal tools and views, to the zeitgeist ofa lively, contradictory and eminently hedonistic
decade. He actually anticipated a whole movement,
proposing the first body-centered creations alreadyin 1980. All of this is exposed in Room B, creating acounterpoint and a suspension to the rest of the
Issey Miyake’s oeuvre.
Issey Miyake's work in this phase carries on theuttermost technological and formal research uponwhich his design practice has been established. The
stress on the body is in fact made possible by theapplication of new technologies that allow the use ofmaterials never before applied to clothes-making,like the fiber reinforced plastics and synthetic resin
infusion that translated into a series of sculptural
bodices in 1980. Modeled on a real torso, these
items were not intended as a work of art, but asindustrially produced multiples. The silicone
zippered body follows the same principle, while therattan body pieces, halfway between clothing andundergarment, stand at the crossing of East andWest. The waterfall body pieces, made of Pewlon
and modeled on the torso with the aid of a silicone
infusion seamlessly mix classic draping, sculptureand science, using a piece of cloth.

ISSEY MIYAKE, Waterfall Body,
Autumn / Winter 1984, 1984
Photo: Hiroshi Iwasaki

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Room C
Issey Miyake's most radical research springs from ateam mentality. Early on, in fact, he refused thestatus of the fashion designer as a self-obsessed
divinity, developing fruitful collaborations both
inside the Miyake Design Studio and with textile
engineers and fabric firms.
Using a single piece of cloth to create a piece ofclothing is the main creative quest for Issey Miyake,but also an ethical choice. By doing so, in fact, he candevelop new shapes, while enhancing the beauty
and texture of the fabric and reducing its waste tovirtually zero, in respect of the environment. As aresult, the almost abstract forms that derive from asingle piece of cloth free the body from any constriction,
while reacting differently to different body shapes,
making clothing truly personal, in an unfussy,
immediate way.
Room C explores the main themes of Issey Miyake's
innovative drive and groups them in thematic clusters.
A link unites them in a whole, however, because in
the Miyake design studio cross-pollination is an
essential practice.
Fabric is pivotal: a maker of things, Issey Miyake
believes that any material can be turned into clothing.
He used Japanese washi paper, horsehair and raffia;
conversely, he has rediscovered traditional materials.
But he has also experimented special treatments
giving surfaces an alive, animal look, as well as
exploring futuristic fabrics, such as a polyester thatis heat-cut and molded into shape with the aid ofjust snap buttons. Issey Miyake has also developed
treatments based on the idea of re-use, like theStarburst series which acquire a new look after the
foil is pressed on the fabric surface, or the needlepunching that produces unique textures by laying
layers of different materials.
Pleats is a theme that crosses a large dent of the
Issey Miyake production. Working first with blends ofpolyester and natural fibers, then with a speciallydeveloped weave of polyester that can be heatprocessed, Issey Miyake turned pleats, one of themost ancient ways to wrap a three dimensional
object with a two-dimensional material, into an
expression of aesthetic pureness with a pragmaticaim. He developed a special process of “garment
pleating”, which means that a piece of clothing is
pleated after it is sawn, resulting in very sharp,

defined lines. Pleats allowed Miyake the opportunityof working with shapes that laid flat have almost apurely abstract quality - a staircase, a circle, a flying
saucer - playing with the space between body andclothing, but pleats and specifically the “garment
pleating” process he devised, ultimately provided thesolution to one of Miyake’s dreams to create clothing
as universal as jeans and T-shirts, and allowed thecreation of a whole new species of utilitarian clothes,at once inventive, sturdy and extremely practical.
Freeing the movement was the aim, and in fact thesesolutions were first tested for the William Forsythe’sBallet Frankfurt, and later introduced into thecollection, finally culminating in the launch of
PLEATS PLEASE in 1993. Room C actively shows thepleating process as well, revealing the keenengineering that is required in order to pleat a piecethat is already sewn.
Making things: this is how Issey Miyake defines his
activity. Wearable things, in his views, have to be

ISSEY MIYAKE, Blade of Grass Pleats,
Spring / Summer 1990, 1989
Photo: Hiroshi Iwasaki

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made in respect of the individual as well as in respectof the environment. A-POC and 132 5. ISSEY MIYAKE
are the result of such convictions, almost thirteen
years apart from one another. A-POC is a revolutionary
process that Miyake developed with Dai Fujiwara in
1998, that allows to shape clothes integrally throughthe production of a tubular piece of knit fabric,
virtually erasing all waste while doing away with
cutting and sewing. Starting in knit, and evolving inwovens, A-POC is the one piece of cloth quest brought
to levels of groundbreaking invention.
Launched in 2010, 132 5. ISSEY MIYAKE has beendeveloped inside Miyake's Reality Lab., a think tankcum design collective crossing boundaries anddisciplines. Using recycled polyester as material andtechniques inspired by the algorithms, a new breed ofclothes is born: items that can be completely folded
into flat, geometric shapes, and that only gain life
through the body movements of those who unfold
them and wear them. As such, this technology has
been extended beyond clothes making: similar
shapes made with the same folding techniquecharacterize in fact the IN-EI ISSEY MIYAKE lamps
made with recycled pet bottles. Room C also shows,on 1:2 scale mannequins, the 132 5. ISSEY MIYAKE key
pieces, giving visitors the possibility to intersect withthis playful objects and discover their useful magic.

132 5. ISSEY MIYAKE, No. 1 Dress,2010 Photo: Hiroshi Iwasaki

ISSEY MIYAKE, Colombe,
Spring / Summer 1991, 1990
Photo: Hiroshi Iwasaki

132 5. ISSEY MIYAKE, Square Wool, Vol.4,
2015 Photo: Hiroshi Iwasaki

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General Information

MIYAKE ISSEY EXHIBITION: The Work of Miyake Issey
Date:
Opening hours:
Venue:
Organized by:Wed., March 16 – Mon., June 13, 2016
Closed on Tuesdays, except Tue., May 3
10:00−18:00 *10:00−20:00 on Fridays ※Last admission 30 minutes before closing
The National Art Center, Tokyo, Special Exhibition Gallery 2E（Kokuritsu-Shin-Bijutsukan）
7-22-2 Roppongi, Minato-ku, Tokyo 106-8558
The National Art Center, Tokyo

Co-organized by:
The Miyake Issey Foundation, Miyake Design Studio, Issey Miyake Inc.
included）: General: Adults 1,300 yen, College students 800 yen
Admission（taxAdvance／Group: Adults 1,100 yen, College students 500yen※ Visitors who are under 18, including high school students and disabled people with

ID booklets（along with one assistant）will be admitted for free.
Free admission on May 18（Wed.）, 2016 for International Museum Day.
※ Group tickets will only be available at the venue（discounts only applicable to groups of 20 people or more).
※ Tickets both Advance and General are available through the National Art Center, Tokyoand major ticket agencies. Service charges may apply.
※ Advance tickets can be purchased through the above services and at the National Art Center, Tokyo
from January 15（Fri.）, 2016 to March 15（Tue.）, 2016（only until March 14（Mon.）at the National Art Center, Tokyo.）※ Visitors who present a ticket or ticket stub from another exhibition currently underway
at the National Art Center, Tokyo, the Suntory Museum or the Mori Art Museum（the three facilities that make up the Roppongi Art Triangle）will be eligible for the group discount.
※ Visitors 65 and over（I.D. with proof of age required）who present a ticket stub fromartist associations’ exhibition held at the National Art Center, Tokyo during“MIYAKE ISSEY EXHIBITION: The Work of Miyake Issey” will be admitted tothe exhibition at the college student group rate.

The National Art Center, Tokyo
7-22-2 Roppongi, Minato-ku, Tokyo 106-8558
URL: http://www.nact.jp/english/
AccessNogizaka Station, Tokyo Metro Chiyoda Line, Exit 6（direct access）
Roppongi Station, Tokyo Metro Hibiya Line, Exit 4a（about 5-minute walk）
Roppongi Station, Toei Oedo Subway Line, Exit 7（about 4-minute walk）

General Inquiries: +81-（0）3-5405-8686（ Hello Dial）
URL: http://2016.miyakeissey.org

For the latest information and the details, please visit the National Art Center, Tokyo website.

For press-related
inquiries, pleasecontact:“MIYAKE ISSEY EXHIBITION: The Work of Miyake Issey” Press Office（ The National Art Center, Tokyo）
7-22-2 Roppongi, Minato-ku, Tokyo 106-8558
3-3405-2531 E-mail: miyakeisseypr@nact.jp
3-6812-9925 Fax: +81Tel: +81（0）（0）※ Press Office is closed on Saturdays, Sundays, National Holidays, the year-end. through the New Year Holidays.

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MIYAKE ISSEY EXHIBITION: The Work of Miyake Issey

List of Image Data for Press Use
We are pleased to offer a number of different images of the works on display to help promote the exhibition. If you would liketo receive one（or more）, please fill out the attached form and return it to us by fax.
（e-mail requests will also be honored）※Please refrain from using the images included in the press release without prior permission.
※Images for press use may differ from the works on display.

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MIYAKE ISSEY EXHIBITION: The Work of Miyake Issey,
Main Visual

L: 132 5. ISSEY MIYAKE, No. 1 Dress, No.1 Jacket, 2010
Photo: Hiroshi Iwasaki
R: 132 5. ISSEY MIYAKE, No. 1 Dress, 2010
Photo: Hiroshi Iwasaki

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L: ISSEY MIYAKE, Flying Saucer, Spring/ Summer 1994, 1993
Photo: Koji Udo
R: 132 5. ISSEY MIYAKE, No.10 Skirt, 2010
Photo: Koji Udo

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MIYAKE ISSEY EXHIBITION: The Work of Miyake Issey

List of Image Data for Press Use
We are pleased to offer a number of different images of the works on display to help promote the exhibition. If you would liketo receive one（or more）, please fill out the attached form and return it to us by fax.
（e-mail requests will also be honored）※Please refrain from using the images included in the press release without prior permission.
※Images for press use may differ from the works on display.

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ISSEY MIYAKE, Tatoo, Spring/ Summer 1971, 1970
Photo: Hiroshi Iwasaki

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ISSEY MIYAKE, Linen Jumpsuits, Spring/ Summer 1976, 1975
Photo: Hiroshi Iwasaki

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ISSEY MIYAKE, Blade of Grass Pleats, Spring/ Summer 1990, 1989
Photo: Hiroshi Iwasaki

ISSEY MIYAKE, Waterfall Body, Autumn/ Winter 1984, 1984
Photo: Hiroshi Iwasaki

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MIYAKE ISSEY EXHIBITION: The Work of Miyake Issey

List of Image Data for Press Use
We are pleased to offer a number of different images of the works on display to help promote the exhibition. If you would liketo receive one（or more）, please fill out the attached form and return it to us by fax.
（e-mail requests will also be honored）※Please refrain from using the images included in the press release without prior permission.
※Images for press use may differ from the works on display.

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ISSEY MIYAKE, Horsehair, Autumn/ Winter 1990, 1990
Photo: Hiroshi Iwasaki

132 5. ISSEY MIYAKE, No. 1 Dress, 2010
Photo: Hiroshi Iwasaki

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ISSEY MIYAKE, Colombe, Spring/ Summer 1991, 1990
Photo: Hiroshi Iwasaki

132 5. ISSEY MIYAKE, Square Wool, Vol.4, 2015
Photo: Hiroshi Iwasaki

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MIYAKE ISSEY EXHIBITION: The Work of Miyake Issey

Application Form for Image Data andTicket Giveaway for Press Use“MIYAKE ISSEY EXHIBITION: The Work of Miyake Issey” Press Office

Fax: 03-3405-2531 E-mail: miyakeisseypr@nact.jp■ After receiving this application form, the Press Office will send you all the images by e-mail.
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Name of company:

Name of publication（name of feature or section）:

Date when article is scheduled to appear:

Writer’s name:

Tel

Fax

E-mailDate and／or time you would like to receive image data:■ I would like to receive the exhibition s tickets to use as a giveaway in my publication（ please check the box below ）:□Five pairs of tickets（total of 10）

Tickets will be sent out as soon as they are ready. Please provide us with the mailing address at which you would like to receive them:
Address:

When making use of photos and images of the art works, we kindly ask that you observe the following guidelines:
1. Photos and images of the art works are intended only for the promotion of the exhibition. Please do not use them after the exhibition has ended.
2. When using photos or images, please include the entire credit as provided.（Please refer to list of image data.）
3. Please put in italic type for the words which is written in italic on the list.
4. Please do not trim or superimpose text on the photos or images.
5. Please submit your manuscript to us by fax or e-mail before it is published, so that we can ascertain the accuracy of the factual information.
If you don’t submit your manuscript before it is published, “MIYAKE ISSEY EXHIBITION” Press Office does not take any responsibility for the article.
6. After the article is published, please submit a copy of your article to us.
7. In addition, we ask that the editorial office of your publication oversee the issuing of giveaway tickets after you receive them in the mail.

For press-related
inquiries, pleasecontact:“MIYAKE ISSEY EXHIBITION: The Work of Miyake Issey” Press Office（ The National Art Center, Tokyo）
7-22-2 Roppongi, Minato-ku, Tokyo 106-8558
3-3405-2531 E-mail: miyakeisseypr@nact.jp
3-6812-9925 Fax: +81Tel: +81（0）（0）※ Press Office is closed on Saturdays, Sundays, National Holidays, the year-end. through the New Year Holidays.

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