One of the most interesting fashion designers of all time is Issey Miyake. He is a deep thinker who has carved his place in fashon history through focused research with one guiding principle: a piece of cloth. After rewatching this video from 2006 this morning, feel the need to share some of his statements that ring true still today:
“I want to develop the concept of “a piece of cloth” over as long a period as possible. When I grow weary about where I’m going, or when I stumble, I’ll return to the theme, “a piece of cloth.” I feel happy about that because it gives me another direction to go in.
I feel there is a difference between an individual designer and what we can achieve when we talk to designers or others.
Design work should certainly not be a matter of designing something, turning it into a product and simply introducing changes or modifications. A new approach will be the basis of design in the future, I think. We must think more about society, living, and enjoyment or happiness. Otherwise our work will become boring and extremely different.
In my opinion it’s essential for different kinds of people to get together to work, and for people sharing the same world to think and talk to each other about a variety of things.”
Fashion Matters II 