Inside the origin of Pleats Please: Issey Miyake’s ‘epoch-making’ clothing

How new techniques, materials, and a little kismet at Issey Miyake Studio made Pleats Please into an industry-changing reality.

The following is an excerpt from Issey Miyake, a new book from Taschen on the life and work of the late renowned clothing designer. Here, Kazuko Koike, the author of the essay in the book, as well as the author of books including Japan Design, recalls how Miyake developed the pleated clothes that became Pleats Please, why they were “epoch-making,” and Miyake’s first principle: mono zukuri, or making things. It has been lightly edited for clarity and length.”