With all the talk about Issey Miyake’s history resurfacing again after his grand exhibit in Tokyo, I thought it’s apt to look briefly into one of his under the radar lines – Issey Miyake Plantation as a follow up to the retrospective I wrote many moons ago.
The Plantation line was launched in 1981 by Issey Miyake himself, born out of his pursuit in textile research. He wanted to focus on creating everyday garments that were suitable for people’s day to day needs. While the idea seems simple today, this was done in the 80s when most designers were only too keen on the concept of power dressing, offering broad shoulders, skimpy tight dresses and high heels. Don’t forget the sticky lycra. In contrast, Miyake made clothing that offered luxurious craftsmanship out of natural materials such as cotton, linen and wool. The clothes made under this collection usually consisted of loose dresses, voluminous trousers and billowy coats.
Even though the Plantation line was not long-lived, its carefree spirit continues to live in other Issey Miyake’s lines today, most notably in the HaaT line.
I actually haven’t heard about this. Where’d you hear about Issey Miyake coming back? I’d be thrilled if this is true.
Hi Michael, I think you may have misunderstood. I was referring to the news of Issey Miyake the brand, not the man himself. Apologies if my wording was unclear.