Japanese fashion designer Issey Miyake has dies aged 84

The Issey Miyake Studio and Issey Miyake Group shared the news that the late designer passed away on 5 August from liver cancer.

Japanese fashion designer Issey Miyake, known for his bold and innovative designs, bestselling perfumes and the iconic black turtlenecks worn by Steve Jobs, has died at the age of 84.

Miyake was born in Hiroshima and was seven years old when the U.S. dropped an atomic bomb on the city in 1945. He founded his design studio in 1970 and became one of the first Japanese designers to show in Paris. He played a key role in putting Japan on the fashion map and had a successful career that spanned over half a century.

This is the second part of my tribute to Issey Miyake, where I’m going to concentrate on HaaT, his India inspired label, which used Indian textiles and craft techniques but fused with a Japanese sensibility. This was utterly dear to me: so close to my own sensibility in how I dress.  

HaaT began in 2000 as a brand imagined from textiles.

The concept is three similar-sounding words. The first is “haat”, the word for village markets in Sanskrit. This reflects the way HaaT is transcending borders and bringing together a wide range of technology, materials and aesthetics. The second is “heart” in English, reflecting the loving care poured into the high-quality textiles developed in Japan and the techniques that have been developed over a long period of time. The third is “haath”, Hindi for “hands”, which reflects the combination of Japanese design and top quality Indian craftsmanship.