The visionary Japanese fashion designer Issey Miyake has sadly died aged 84, following a battle with cancer.
Earlier this morning, Miyake Design Group and Issey Miyake Group released a brief statement confirming the news, adding that the designer passed away ‘surrounded by close friends and associates’ in a Tokyo hospital. No funeral or memorial service will be held, as per Miyake’s wishes.
Best known for his signature ‘Pleats Please’ line of crease-free pleated separates, geometric ‘Bao Bao’ handbags and ultra-popular scents, Issey Miyake was born in Hiroshima in 1938, and was just seven years old when the atomic bomb dropped on the city. He went on to found his eponymous design studio in 1970 and was one of the first Japanese designers to show at Paris Fashion Week, gaining global recognition and renown for his innovative designs, fabrics and use of new technologies.
