PFW Men’s: Issey Miyake SS19

July 11, 2018

[x_section style=”margin: 0px 0px 0px 0px; padding: 45px 0px 45px 0px; “][x_row inner_container=”true” marginless_columns=”false” bg_color=”” style=”margin: 0px auto 0px auto; padding: 0px 0px 0px 0px; “][x_column bg_color=”” type=”1/4″ style=”padding: 10px 10px 10px 10px; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 1px; “][x_text class=”center-text “]by Mabel Gago

Photos by Frédérique Dumoulin[/x_text][/x_column][x_column bg_color=”” type=”3/4″ style=”padding: 0px 0px 0px 0px; “][x_text]Issey Miyake is one of those brands which never deceives. Unique and personal, Miyake has honored the history of fashion with his talent and unstoppable legacy.

Yusuke Takahashi is the little Obi-Wan of Miyake. This young designer has brilliantly caught the essence of the maison under the attentive gaze of Issey Miyake.

I met Yusuke one year ago. Paris was ablaze and his SS18 menswear collection acted like a soft, fresh breeze among the collections.
After the show, I had the great chance to meet him and a big part of Miyake’s team.

Humble and respectful best describes Yusuke. His life is written by a great admiration towards design and investigation.
After graduating in textiles in Tokyo and London, his talent caught the eye and admiration of maestro Issey Miyake, who immediately noticed his potential. This was after Yusuke won the SO-EN award for young designers and he soon became a relevant part of Miyake’s universe.

As he admits, it was not easy. His first challenge consisted of creating a new footwear collection in which he failed. But, as Yusuke said, to fail under the supervision of Miyake is not drama. It is an honor and a priceless lesson directly provided by such a fashion master.
This big opportunity started almost 8 years ago. Today, Yusuke Takahashi has led since the 2014 menswear line at Miyake.
The environment has helped to feed and develop Yusuke’s curiosity towards textures, new fabrics and patterns. His insatiable drive serves to provide practical and unique collections for the contemporary man.

Issey Miyake has always known that he was running a business, adaptability to the modern era and understanding his clients’ needs have always been a significant ingredient in his collections. As a result, Miyake is unique because his personal design has survived in the midst of an ever-changing industry.

Yusuke has learned this–segmentation and diversity are needed: customers range from young Millennials all the way to middle aged men who don’t want to look older or wear the eternal suit. The modern man moves, travels, works and leads a full life.

For the Spring/Summer 2019 collection, “sunlight” is the theme and it seems like sunlight has printed the zigzags and tie & dye of the shirts, jackets and Bermudas. There is also natural movement to the fabrics like cotton jersey, polyester and linen.
Polo shirts and graphic jackets also play the “serious preppy role” in the collection.