Issey Miyake quotes

Issey Miyake was a renowned Japanese designer celebrated for his innovative approach to fashion and technology. His work blended traditional techniques with modern materials, leading to iconic collections such as Pleats Please. He influenced generations of designers and brought a unique Japanese perspective to the global fashion scene. Here are 19 of his quotes:

The purpose - where I start - is the idea of use. It is not recycling, it's reuse. (Issey Miyake)
Even when I work with computers, with high technology, I always try to put in the touch of the hand. View quote
Issey Miyake
Of course there are many ways we can reuse something. We can dye it. We can cut it. We can change the buttons. Those are other ways to make it alive. But this is a new step to use anything - hats, socks, shirts. It's the first step in the process. View quote
Issey Miyake
Design is not for philosophy it's for life. View quote
Issey Miyake
By the way, Marilyn Monroe was a size 14. View quote
Issey Miyake
A great thing happening now in art is that artists are using the figure, the body, clothing, life. View quote
Issey Miyake
Many people will say, well, clothes should be worn; but I think people can look at them in public, like seeing a film. I think museum exhibitions are very important. View quote
Issey Miyake
I very much like dance and dancers. View quote
Issey Miyake
I have worked with several dance companies. View quote
Issey Miyake
To be honest, I think we should find first the possibility to make it. Research is first - if you're not interested, you never can find something. Many things happen from forgotten machines - ones that are no longer used. View quote
Issey Miyake
I started to work with cotton fabrics. I used cotton because it's easy to work with, to wash, to take care of, to wear if it's warm or cold. It's great. That was the start. (Issey Miyake)
Well, what I'm doing is really clothing. I'm not doing sculpture. View quote
Issey Miyake
One of my assistants found this old German machine. It was originally used to make underwear. Like Chanel, who started with underwear fabric - jerseys - we used the machine that made underwear to make something else. View quote
Issey Miyake
From the beginning I thought about working with the body in movement, the space between the body and clothes. I wanted the clothes to move when people moved. The clothes are also for people to dance or laugh. View quote
Issey Miyake
I was always interested in making clothing that is worn by people in the real world. View quote
Issey Miyake
I did not want to be labelled 'the designer who survived the atomic bomb,' and therefore I have always avoided questions about Hiroshima. View quote
Issey Miyake
You see it in the many bouncing clothes that are not just pleats. To make them, two or three people twist them - twist, twist, twist the pleats, sometimes three or four persons twist together and put it all in the machine to cook it. View quote
Issey Miyake
We can also cut by heat - heat punch. And we also can cut by cold - extreme cold. When you cut with heat, it makes a mark. With cold, no mark. It depends on the fabric. View quote
Issey Miyake
I sent 200, 300 of the clothes that I had made, and the dancers chose what they liked. View quote
Issey Miyake

Issey Miyake

Issey Miyake - Image
Photo: Hsinhuei Chiou, CC BY-SA 4.0
Occupation: Japanese Designer
Born: April 22, 1938
Died: August 5, 2022
Quotes count: 19