HOMME PLISSÉ ISSEY MIYAKE Steps Into a Technical World for FW23
Pleats, but not as you know it.
The legacy of Issey Miyake lives on strong with the House’s just-debuted HOMME PLISSÉ ISSEY MIYAKE Fall/Winter 2023 collection. Taking to Palais de Tokyo, the brand’s Paris Fashion Week presentation was more performance art than a runway show, and it is that which makes the label stand out among the rest.
HOMME PLISSÉ ISSEY MIYAKE is a brand that eschews trends and sticks to its own lane. Pleats were naturally in abundance, but without the late, great Miyake at the helm, how does the design team take the sub-brand to the next level? Techwear.
Innovative jackets that popped up, down, side-to-side, and offered angular hoods, storm flaps, and rear aprons were a total highlight this season. It showcased the brand’s ability to subvert its own code of pleated goodness, using creases instead to create a coat of origami origins. Similarly, numerous pieces turned pleats into larger creases and folds — a lavender gilet stepped into the tech realm like the aforementioned jackets, while its signature trench coat was re-done in muted hues of gray that hid the oversized pleated materials, this season less accordion spring-like than before.
Of course, the usual array of HOMME PLISSÉ ISSEY MIYAKE pieces did make an appearance across tops, bottoms, and outerwear, but even still it felt elevated. Geometric lines and patterns carved out their own path on coats that were pleated top-to-bottom, darting the eye all over the wearer, while long-line T-shirt dresses and a rather spectacular skirt in red hinted at an (even more) progressive, expressive future for the brand.
The collection comprises 40 looks, and every single one of them told a different part of the HOMME PLISSÉ ISSEY MIYAKE story. From a jersey jumper that used pleated folds on the arms to denote its part in the brand to looks synonymous with the House, everything came together for a uniform fit for all occasions.
And that was explored within the show itself, which featured multiple interludes of artistic dancers moving around the room with light fabrics and shining lights following their every move, showing that HOMME PLISSÉ ISSEY MIYAKE is the brand that moves with your body.
Explaining the collection, the team said:
“For this collection, the design team of HOMME PLISSÉ ISSEY MIYAKE worked with basic geometry to develop complex forms. The forms created this way, when translated into garments, reflect their constructions of simple elements.
The design team continues to follow Issey san’s approach to design and making. That is: to engage extensively in exploring forms in relation to materiality during research and development, before moving on to designing the actual garments. Also, the brand will continue to celebrate the philosophy of designing garments as “products” for everyday living, as opposed to items for every season.”
Take a look at the HOMME PLISSÉ ISSEY MIYAKE FW23 collection in the gallery above, and stay tuned to Hypebeast for more Paris Fashion Week FW23 content as the days go on.
For more standout fashion, check out Hed Mayner FW23.