Legendary Japanese designer Issey Miyake dies at the age of 84

TOKYO (AP) — Issey Miyake, creator of one of Japan's biggest fashion brands and known for his boldly sculpted signature pleat pieces, has passed away. He was his 84th.

Miyake died of liver cancer on August 5, his design office said on Tuesday.

Miyake defined an era in modern Japanese history and was part of a generation of designers and artists who gained worldwide fame in the 1970s for defining a uniquely different vision of Japan from the West. reached stardom in between.

Miyake's origami-like pleats turned the normally humble polyester into chic. He also used computer technology on textiles to create apparel.

Read more: Steve Jobs' famous mock Who actually designed the turtleneck?

Miyake despises even being called a fashion designer and denies what he considers frivolous, trendy and conspicuous consumption. I chose to He was best known as the designer of Apple founder Steve Jobs' trademark black turtleneck.

Again and again, Miyake returned to his basic concept of starting with a piece of cloth.

Over the years, he has worked with a variety of cultural and social motifs and everyday items (plastic, rattan, "Japanese paper", jute, horsehair, foil, thread, batik, indigo dye, wire.

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He occasionally evoked images of Jimi Hendrix and Janis Joplin, and collaborated with Japanese painter Tadanori Yokoo to paint images of monkeys and leaves in vibrant, psychedelic hues.

He has also collaborated with furniture and interior designer Shiro Kuramata, photographer Irving Penn, choreographer and director Maurice Béjart, potter Lucy Lee, and Ballet Frankfurt.

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In 1992, Miyake was commissioned to design the official Olympic uniforms for Lithuania, which had just gained independence from the Soviet Union.

Born in Hiroshima in 1938, Miyake was an instant star on European runways, combining raw silk knits with Japanese sewing fabrics called sashiko. His brown top graced the cover ofElle magazine's September 1973 issue.

Miyake was also a pioneer of gender roles, with feminist Fusae Ichikawa Asked to model for him in the 1970s, when he was a teenager, he sent the message that clothing should be comfortable and represent true natural beauty.People.

Creating clothing beyond the mundane and seemingly reaching for the spiritual, he always endorsed the T-shirt and jeans look and insisted it was never pretentious.

59} “Design is like a living creature in that it pursues what is important to its well-being and continuity. ,” Miyake once wrote in his book.

His office confirmed that a private funeral had already taken place and that no other ceremony would take place per Miyake's wishes. No known survivors. Please contact us at

letters@time.com.