Legendary Japanese fashion designer Issey Miyake has died from liver cancer at the age of 84.
According to Japanese media, the Hiroshima-born, Tokyo-based fashion force passed away on Friday in Tokyo with a brief statement from the Miyake Design Studio and the Issey Miyake Group, adding he was “surrounded by close friends and associates.”
Per the designer’s wishes, there will be no funeral or memorial service.
Miyake, who launched his namesake label in New York in 1970, was famed for his fabric innovation and bestselling perfumes. His garments have long been beloved by those in the creative industry — thought of as the unofficial uniform of architects and graphic designers.
Famously, his most high-profile and loyal client was Apple founder Steve Jobs, whose signature look was made up of a black Issey Miyake polo-neck with jeans. More recently, Miyake’s Pleats Please franchise has been beloved globally by everyone from musicians and rappers to Gen Z students.
After reading his sister’s fashion magazines as a child, Miyake studied graphic design at a Tokyo art university before moving to Paris in the 1960s, where he worked with high-end fashion designers, Guy Laroche and Hubert de Givenchy. He then moved to New York briefly, before moving home to Tokyo in 1970 to open the Miyake Design Studio, which, by the 1980s had him celebrated as one of the world’s most pioneering designers.
Miyake was one of the first Japanese designers to show in Paris and, according to WWD, was part of a wave of designers that put the country on the fashion map.
After years of success, Miyake stepped back from the fashion industry in 1997 with the brands associated with his name continuing to be lauded globally.
In a statement, the house said: “Never one to embrace trends, Miyake’s dynamic spirit was driven by a relentless curiosity and desire to convey joy through the medium of design. Always a pioneer, Miyake both embraced traditional handcrafts but also looked to the next solution: the newest technology driven by research and development.
He never once stepped back from his love, the process of making things. He continued to work with his teams, creating new designs and supervising all collections under the various Issey Miyake labels.
His spirit of joy, empowerment and beauty will be carried on by the next generations.”
