French honour for a Japanese designer
Issey Miyake is made a Commander of the Legion of Honour at the opening of his retrospective in Tokyo
Japanese fashion designer Issey Miyake was elevated to the rank of Commander of the Legion of Honour last Tuesday at the National Art Centre in Tokyo, home to a retrospective that traces the 45-year career of this “architect of purity”, as former French culture minister Jack Lang described him during the presentation.
The elegant stylist of 77 years welcomed the honour with emotion. “I am surprised and confused, I wonder if I deserve this award,” Miyake responded, after a few words of thanks in French.
Lang first met Miyake when he was the Minister of Culture under Francois Mitterrand in the 1980s.
“His great work is his image, which is sensuous and virtuosic. Issey’s work surprises, astonishes and moves. It is both sculpture and movement,” he said.
Lang also paid tribute to Miyake’s openness to the world and referred to a trip he made with him in Hiroshima, where Miyake was born in 1938. He survived the atomic bombing of the city in August 1945 but lost his mother three years later as a result of radiation,
‘The irreducible light of his work draws its wellspring in the pain of unspeakable tragedy,” Lang said.
Japanese architect Tadao Ando, a long-time friend of the designer, described Miyake as an artist who constantly reinvents “starting afresh each time from scratch.”
The exhibition dedicated opened to the public last Wednesday and examines more than four decades of the designer’s inspiration and innovations. Divided into three sections, it includes both archival pieces from past collections and interactive and moving displays demonstrating how some of the clothes are made.
At a press conference for the exhibit, Miyake was asked what challenges he thinks designers will have to face throughout the next 40 years.
“I don’t think I'll still be around in 40 years, so it's a bit of a difficult question. But given the problems facing humanity, such as aid issues, the shortage of natural resources and the growing population, then surely we need to think like our ancestors and consider making things that take a bit more time or that can be used by both men and women or even by the whole family.
The exhibition features some of Miyake’s most famous early pieces, including a romper with a tattoo print of Janis Joplin and Jimi Hendrix from the designer’s first collection in 1970 and a 1977 cocoon coat that was created using one continuous piece of cloth.
Miyake, who was trained in Parisian tailoring workshops, founded his studio in 1970 and presented his first show in Paris in 1973.
The Japanese designer retired in the late 1990s to devote himself to researching materials and construction techniques.
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- The Issey Miyake Retrospective runs through June 13 at the Tokyo National Art Centre. For more details, check www.NACT.jp
