Japan - Culture

Issey MiyakeApril 22, 1938 Present, 71 Years

1IntroductionWhat is your name and profession?My name is Issey Miyake. I am a fashion designer, but I do not believe that I create clothing, or ready-to-wear ensembles, but rather art pieces.

I received my education in 1959 he enrolling in a graphic arts course at Tokyo's famous Tama Art University

Mr. Miyake photo from Adcglobal.org2IntroductionIn 1970 I established the Miyake Design Studio, three years after which I started to show my line at the Paris Collections. My basic tenets for making clothes has always been the idea of creating a garment from 'one piece of cloth', and the exploration of the space between the human body and the cloth that covers it.I received Japan Fashion Editor's Club Award in 1974 after which three years later the Mainichi Newspaper Fashion Awards three times.In 1980 I was a receiver of Pratt Institute, New York Award for Creative Design. I was also awarded with the International Award of the Council of America Fashion Designers in 1984 as well as Recipient of Neiman-Marcus AwardIn 1985 I won the Best Collection presented by a Foreign Designer-Award of Les Oscars de la Mode, Paris. I received Award of the Japanese magazine for the textile industry Senken Shimbun in 1986 .1993 was a very proud year for me PLEATS PLEASE was launched, which is a radical but eminently practical and universal form of contemporary clothing that combines technology, functionality and beautyI also won the Arts and Philosophy Kyoto Prize in 2006IntroductionPlease list significant contributions you have made?My real contributions, at least to the fashion industry are designs would influence not just the world of fashion, but even sport. For instance in 1992, I designed the pleated jackets for the Lithuanian team at the Barcelona Olympics.I have also left a mark in the world fashion scene when in 1998, I embarked upon a new project called A-POC (A Piece of Cloth) with Dai Fujiwara and a team of young designers. I am challenging the way in which clothing is made using new process that harnesses computer technology to industrial knitting or weaving machines to create clothing beginning with a single piece of thread.

I have also established the Miyake Issey Foundation with the authorization of the Ministry of Education and Science, in February of 2004.

4Cultural ValuesHow important were your Family and personal life to your success and well being? My mother who was a teacher was a very strong influence at my young age. She nurtured my free spirit and artistic nature. She passed away four years after the Hiroshima Bombing which occurred when I just seven years old.

I it was the American occupation in Japan that gave me an introduction to western culture.

I took an interest in the pictures of fashions in my sister's glamour magazines. Admiring the way clothes could drape the human body to make a statement, I decided instead to become a fashion designer, even though it was considered a woman's profession. When I entered university and obtained Western magazines, I was inspired by the fashion photographs of Richard Avendon, as well as the images of Hiro and Andy Warhol.Mr. Miyake. Photograph frominfomat.com

5Cultural ValuesHow do you want to be remembered?

"I would be very happy if it was said of me that I had provided some keys to the 21st century. All I can do is to keep experimenting, keep developing my thoughts further. Certain people think that the definition of design is the beauty or the useful, but in my own work, I want to integrate feelings, emotion. You have to put life into it."

Why do you think you were so popular with the general Japanese society?

I doubt very much that I was popular with the Japanese society early on, I have always embraced the western culture and have tried to blend it with the Japanese culture which might be considered to be a taboo, but I have broken many barriers from doing what was considered to be for women, to creating master pieces that help put Japan in the fashion map and inspired more younger generation Japanese designers to follow in my foot steps.6Cultural ValuesWhat are your motivational drivers?

I can simply say my first motivation drivers are the magazines I looked at when I was younger. But I think from my first design, my first creation, I have had the push to go further, do more and each an escalating need to achieve better creations than the last.

I seek not only to have a new designs, but making use of natural fibers and other fabrics, I have painstakingly researched this at the Miyake Design Studio in Tokyo, my designs have become hugely successful, not just in high cultural circles, either.One of a line of Issey Miyakes revolutionary designs Staircase Pleats Dress, fall/winter 199495. Silver pleated polyester. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.

7PlanningWhat role did planning play in your career success and why is it important?Designing involves a lot of planning, before having the actual piece done. From the Idea stage to putting the idea on paper to having an actual design on the cat walk, planning is essential.

Before I have a fashion show doneI need to have all details planned, I am more of a creative person and as my label has grown, I have managed to have more professionals handleother aspects of the business so I canfocus on designing and expanding.

Issey Miyake Flagship has recently just opened on Rue Royale in Paris, 8Risk ToleranceHow would you describe yourself from a risk taking standpoint (risk averse, risk neutral or risk taker) and why?At the beginning of a fashion show, product launch, there is a chance that the public can either accept or not accept the designs or products, I believe I am a risk taker.

When you are in the world of fashion it is necessary to be a risk taker, because what ever creation that comes out has to be daring, loud and different from what people are used to seeing in order for success.

9InnovationName one innovative success and/or failure you experienced in your career?Through out my experience I have gone through more than one innovative successes and failures, but I trust the successes outweigh the failures.

My most memorable innovative success would be in 1993, fulfilling my wish and following five years of research, I launched my flagship design concept: pleats. My permanently pleated clothes were meant to be functional, universal for the modern buyer, and accessible to a wide market. The pleats were made using my innovative fabric technology.

Single pieces of 100-percent polyester fabric were cut and sewn two- to three-times larger than the finished product. The pieces were heat pressed between two sheets of paper, a process that simultaneously created a permanent pleat, in either a vertical, horizontal, or zig-zag pattern, and created texture and form. Offered in a variety of seasonal colors, the clothes were light, flexible, and easy to care for.

Pleats Please Issey Miyake, the offspring of the design team under the direction of Issey Miyake10LoyaltyHow would you define loyalty from a co-worker, colleague or family member perspective? Why is it important?Loyalty is not for free, it is earned and it maintained. I believe in creating a cause and have all people around me dedicated to it because not only is it for me, but for all of us.

My clients are loyal to my designs, and my products because we (myself and colleagues) are committed to the cause of crating the best. If we did not have the time and effort invested in the products as we do, we may not have the loyalty we have at the moment.

Loyalty is important from my co-workers and colleagues because the same loyalty is transferred to my clients and that is the source of my success, my clients.11LeadershipHow would you define your leadership style?I have always been a strong believer in free expression and people being themselves because this brings out most creativity, but I always emphasize on discipline without which creativity means nothing.

I always do my best to motivate my subordinates, and to do so I make sure the environment in which they are working in is inspired by art.

Because I want the best and demand it out of myself, I demand the same from my subordinates, but not only in pressure of deadlines and perfect work, but by leading by example. I can not expect the people who follow me to do any different from what I would do. Therefore if I expect people to be in at 6:00 AM I will be in the office before 6:00Am.12Workplace InterrelationshipsWhat was your strategic approach to developing allies?

I believe in social interactions more than formal meeting, I have been known for throwing lavish parties as of recent because I do not only meet potential suppliers and distributers but I get to meet potential clients as well as upcoming talent whom I all consider to be valuable allies. I do believe having people in a relaxed environment gives you a clear glimpse of who they truly are. The social gatherings also give a chance for the employees to interact and know one another as well as the people we do business with.Is teamwork important in politics like it is for business?

Teamwork is important, but individual recognition is also important. I have many names under my design labels, they are all in recognition of the designers who designed those designs.

Issey Miyake label in the name also reminds them they did not do it alone., but with the team.

Picture by Fashion Hailey from one of Issey Miyake parties13Decision MakingWhat was your approach to decision making as a leader?Interesting that you asked that. The moment I have an Idea, it is a decision. I am a very quick decision maker based on what I see, hear and how that fits into my vision. My vision has always been a guide and has always played a major role in what decisions I make, from the new designers I have recruited to the new products I have approved.

From the decisions that at the moment felt wrong and felt that I will come to regret, the lessons I learned from those decisions has been base to further decisions made.

Not all decisions I make are according to my mistakes, my visions or my needs, but as much as I believe in team work, I believe in getting peoples opinions and views, which my affect the final decision.14Use of TechnologyWhy is technology important and how would or did you use it strategically?We are moving towards the future, where technology affects out everyday lives, I have always embraced innovation through technology. Yes I know in many peoples minds they may wonder what fabric, or perfumes have to do with technology, A lot. The methodology now used for creating the new perfumes, colognes is not the same as the methodology used 50 years ago. We now look to have perfumes that stimulate the different senses of the human further from the sense of smell. Also controlling the strength of the smell is another form achievement.LEau dIssey Pour Homme, Issey Miyake launches his second mens fragrance. LEau Bleue DIssey pour Homme is strong aromatic scent with warm, woody undertones. This fragrance is surely well noticed without being too strong.

15Interview ReferencesThis interview is fictional and responses are a composite of ideas derived from the multiple sources listed below, except where cited in the text.Issey Miyake biography.http://www.s9.com/Biography/Miyake-Issey

Issey Miyake By Sara Templetonhttp://www.webwombat.com.au/lifestyle/fashion_beauty/miyake.htm

2006 Hall of Fame issey Miyakehttp://www.adcglobal.org/archive/hof/2006/?id=2

Biography: Issey Miyakehttp://www.answers.com/topic/issey-miyake

Issey Miyake University Library Human Ecology http://library.osu.edu/sites/humanecology/bookmarks/miyake.php

Issey Miyake: Clothes As An Art Form By: Mari Davis http://www.fashionwindows.com/runway_shows/issey_miyake/default.asp

Issey Miyake From Wikipedia, the free encyclopediahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Issey_Miyake 16Photo ReferencesImages were used from the following sources:Issey Miyake biography.http://www.s9.com/Biography/Miyake-Issey

Issey Miyake By Sara Templetonhttp://www.webwombat.com.au/lifestyle/fashion_beauty/miyake.htm

2006 Hall of Fame issey Miyakehttp://www.adcglobal.org/archive/hof/2006/?id=2

Biography: Issey Miyakehttp://www.answers.com/topic/issey-miyake

Issey Miyake University Library Human Ecology http://library.osu.edu/sites/humanecology/bookmarks/miyake.php

Issey Miyake: Clothes As An Art Form By: Mari Davis http://www.fashionwindows.com/runway_shows/issey_miyake/default.asp.17