Issey Miyake was born in Hiroshima in 1938. After studying graphics arts in Tokyo’s Tama Art University, he decided to later study fashion design at the Ecole de la Chambre Syndicale de la Couture Parisienne.
In 1970 he opened up his own Miyake Design Studio in Tokyo where he was able to experiment with various design techniques. Through this studio, he has been able to develop natural fabrics and designs, and has even designed costumes.
The Miyake design sensibility revolves around change and movement. Displayed as art, as they were in the Making Things exhibition at the Fondation Cartier pour l'Art Contemporain in Paris last year, the clothes appear precisely geometric and static. Once worn, though, they take on volume and mobility, as if they are living sculptures.