For the creative head of a brand devoted to innovation and technology, Issey Miyake designer Yoshiyuki Miyamae is particularly obsessed with nature. There’s a pleasing irony in that, and it enlivened his Resort collection’s standout pieces: a pleated dress and separates hand-painted by the studio in desert hues lifted from Georgia O’Keeffe’s landscapes. O’Keeffe is much-referenced these days—chalk that up to a recent Brooklyn Museum exhibition celebrating her iconic art and her inspiring lifestyle and fashion sense—but Miyamae’s interpretation stands apart from others. Miyake has as strong a signature as O’Keeffe did.
The petal idea extended to solid pieces made using the house’s steam stretch technique, which creates pleats by using thread that shrinks when heated. The hems of tops, skirts, and dresses bloomed rather dramatically like tulips. Elsewhere, the focus was on relaxing the trademarks, including by serving up some denim separates. Issey “jeans” have absolutely nothing to do with the no-stretch, dark-rinse selvedge jeans that are trending in the market now. Miyamae chose the lightest-weight denim around, and rather than pleating it, he added surface interest by color-blocking it with black.
