“I believe there is hope in design.”
“The making of clothing would not be possible without an ode to mankind and nature, and at its heart is the desire for peace."
These are the words of Issey Miyake.

“Issey Miyake's work and way of life are extremely emotional. Creativity does not come first, but emotion comes first. It is the emotion that leads to creativity.” “Mr. Miyake's desire for peace is always present in his designs and clothes, and I always feel it strongly.”
These are the words of people who know Issey Miyake well.

Issey Miyake has continued to create garments that have brought surprise and joy to the world, such as "A Piece of Cloth," "Body Works," "Pleats Please," and "A POC." He has revolutionized the way we value clothing, and he has always believed in the power of design. On the other hand, behind the explosion of creativity was always a desire for peace.

Mr. Miyake, who never talked much about his past, is now over 70 years old and recounts his experience of the atomic bombing in his hometown of Hiroshima when he was 7 years old. In 2009, a turning point occurred that accelerated his long-held desire for peace. In Prague, the Czech Republic, President Barack Obama declared "a world without nuclear weapons.”
Inspired by this, Miyake decided that now was the time to unite the voices for nuclear abolition and he wrote an article about his A-bomb experience for The New York Times magazine. Through a friend who was a former French Minister of Culture, he wrote a letter to President Obama expressing his wish that the President of the United States visit Hiroshima. His wish eventually came true.
In 2016, the first sitting U.S. President to visit the A-bombed city of Hiroshima became a historical fact.

When you hear the word "fashion," you may think of something glamorous and pretty, something that has nothing to do with war or nuclear weapons. In fact, I believe that fashion is the one that must continue to advocate for peace, because it is the field of fashion that has benefited most from peace.

I once attended an ISSEY MIYAKE show. A friend of mine was working at MDS (Miyake Design Studio) at the time, and I asked her if I could somehow get a ticket to the show, which I did.
Luckily, that collection was the first collection of the pleated collection that would later become synonymous with ISSEY MIYAKE. It was absolutely beautiful, with three-dimensional shapes that I had never seen before, and the show was simply stunning.

My first trip abroad was to the Paris collections, six months after I joined Yohji Yamamoto. The company no longer has such a policy, but at the time, I was given one day off. Though I did not understand a word of French or even English, I strolled around the streets of Paris, a completely unknown city, without a map or anything, without any idea of where I was going. (I only remembered the name of the metro where my hotel was on the way home).
After walking for quite a long time, I don't even remember where I was, a huge banner on a building with the words [ Issey Miyake, A-Un , Musee des Arts Decoratifs, Paris ] jumped out at me.
I had heard about the exhibition, but I had never expected to find it in Paris, so I was stunned by the coincidence. Of course, I bought a ticket and visited the exhibition.
It was truly a blissful experience for me to see the ISSEY MIYAKE collections of past generations in person for the first time.

I was 20 years old and knew nothing about fashion when I set my sights on becoming a fashion designer because I admired Issey Miyake, but now I feel that what I really admired and respected was not Issey's work but his thoughts, attitude, beliefs, and personality.

Even if you are able to get the job you want, you will often continue to be troubled by the gap between your ideal and reality. When I see other designers' collections, the word "competitor" comes to mind even if I don't think about it, and I have no choice but to be reminded of "work.” But Issey’s creations are different. For me, even now, they are like a dream world, a "wonderland," and looking at his creations from past generations, I feel a surge of courage, hope, and energy. It is as if I can go back in time to those days when I was aspiring to become a fashion designer.

The only memory I have of Mr. Issey is that when I entered a design contest, Mr. Yohji, who was a judge for the contest, told me that he and Mr. Issey, who was also a judge for the contest, had a lot of fun together with my work. I never had a chance to meet Mr. Issey, but that is why he is still like a cloud to me.

I still have nothing but strong admiration for Issey Miyake and heartfelt gratitude to him for showing me the way.

Isshi Kanamaru 2023.3