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As reported by AFP, Japanese designer Issey Miyake (April 22, 1983, Hiroshima) died at the age of 84 on Friday, August 5, in a Tokyo hospital. The acclaimed designer is reported to have died due to to liver cancer. In a statement released by the Issey Miyake Group, it was confirmed that “there will be no kind of funeral or public commemorative act, at the express request of the designer.”
The statement from the fashion group also praised the revolutionary designer by saying:
“Miyake’s dynamic spirit was driven by a relentless curiosity and desire to convey joy through the medium of design.”
It is a sad week for the fashion world as the industry mourns the loss of one of the most influential design geniuses of the 20th and 21st centuries. Miyake was known for transforming fabrics into art with his signature technique of rich origami inspired pleats. During the 1980’s, his avant-garde designs helped Miyake become interntionally known and since then, he has been regarded as one of the top and most relevant designers of our times.
The Hiroshima born artist studied graphic design at the Tokyo Tama Art University and then moved to Paris and be an apprentice and work with great couture designers such as Guy Laroche and Hubert de Givenchy. In 1973, he decided to create his own collection and that’s when the legend was born.
In addition, the Japanese designer became part of pop culture and well known as the mastermind behind the late Apple co-founder, Steve Jobs’ trademark black mock turtle neck uniform. According to the UK’s The Guardian, Miyake produced 100 of these shirts for Jobs, making him one of his top and long term clients, as well as a friend.
Following his success in the fashion world, Miyake also entered the world of fragances. In the 90s, he released his most famous perfume, L’Eau d’Issey, a timeless fragance that is still available and best-selling today. The bottle of the perfume has a gorgeous aesthetic with minimal and futuristic design, very unforgettable.
“Beauty is like a sunset: it goes as soon as you try to capture it. The beauty you like is precisely that which escapes you.” - Miyake
Issey Miyake has been recognized multiple times over the course of his life. From receiving the 1976 Mainichi Design Award in Japan, being decorated as a Commandeur des Arts et Lettres from France in 1991, named “Superstar” at “The 1995 Night of Stars” by The Fashion Group International in New York to receiving an Honorary Fellow of Royal Academy of Arts, in London in 2019.
His legacy will live on as his designs will continue to be exhibited around the world and can be viewed at prestigious institutions such as New York’s Museum of Moder Art, Philadelphia’s Museum of Art, London’s Victoria and Albert Museum, among others.