I started to work with cotton fabrics. I used cotton because it’s easy to work with, to wash, to take care of, to wear if it’s warm or cold. It’s great. That was the start. – Issey Miyake
The combination of human skills with technology will always be at the root of any solution to the future of making clothes. – Issey Miyake
The core spirit of Pleats Please is joy, and what better emotion to wear on your skin every day? – Issey Miyake
I became a fashion designer to make clothes for the people, not to be a top couturier in the French tradition. – Issey Miyake
A few of the influences on my career so far have been Isamu Noguchi, Irving Penn, and seeing the riots of 1968 in Paris. – Issey Miyake
Technology allows us to do many things, but it is always important to combine it with traditional handcrafts and, in fact, use technology to replicate dying arts so that they are not lost. – Issey Miyake
Most of us feel some kind of uncertainty, with the population increasing and resources decreasing. We have to face these issues. – Issey Miyake
Architects always have a feel for time – the generation they live in – as we do, and they are always striving toward boundless adventure. – Issey Miyake
The joining of the Japanese with the French should make a new movement. I think it should be good for Paris. – Issey Miyake
If you look back throughout history from the ancient Egyptians onwards, most cultures started making clothing from a very basic premise: a single piece of cloth. – Issey Miyake
In fashion, you need to present something new every six months, but it takes time to study things. Development is very important. – Issey Miyake
I suppose there are many, but I cannot imagine ever having a more perfect collaboration than that which Penn-san and I shared. It was based upon mutual trust, respect, and a desire to have our own work pushed to new places. And it always resulted in delight. – Issey Miyake
When I first began working in Japan, I had to confront the Japanese people’s excessive worship for foreign goods and the fixed idea of what clothes ought to be. I wanted to change the rigid formula of clothing that the Japanese followed. – Issey Miyake
I respect men and women who age and are proud and don’t lose energy. I think fashion forgot those people. – Issey Miyake
I gravitated towards the field of clothing design, partly because it is a creative format that is modern and optimistic. – Issey Miyake
All of my work stems from the simplest of ideas that go back to the earliest civilizations: making clothing from one piece of cloth. It is my touchstone. – Issey Miyake
