Your typical Homme Plissé Issey Miyake presentation—whether online or real-world—can be relied upon to feature two connected elements; pleats, plus a demonstration of the dynamic range of human movement that they allow. This Kazunali Tajima-directed video presentation was an exception; for while there were pleats aplenty, the Plissé cast of nearly 30 men plus a smattering of women, all of different ethnicities, nationalities, professions, and body-shapes, stood perfectly still.
Instead what moved was the light around them, allowing the shadow to dig deep into those pleats. By having its models remain stationary, HPIM was inviting us to consider how these clothes possessed an impressive universality that also handsomely served the various individualities they were cladding.
On a Zoom call members of the design team, who preferred to remain anonymous, ran through some of the specific facets of this collection. These included an early series named ‘body arch,’ made from recycled polyester, and presented in a spectrum of color intended to echo the spectrum of human skin tones. A subtle conflict between curved fold and straight pleat created a sophisticatedly tapered pant silhouette.
A less neutral facade was evident in a series named ‘body movement’ that featured contoured printed curves over a background the team said was drawn in paint and sand. In another series a leno stripe pattern was rendered via double warp, single weft karamiori technique to give four styles a substantial north/south verticality. There was also a quaintly color-blocked edition of the label’s ongoing plimsoll partnership with the retro sneaker brand Wakouwa.
This was another seductively serene offering from HPIM, with only one possible caveat. That casting seemed to cry out for the inclusion of Miyake super-influencer and my Vogue Italia colleague Angelo Flaccavento, who wowed Milan’s street style cognoscenti this week with his dreamy flamingo pink pleated jacket and matching hosiery game. Flaccavento is fast becoming to Miyake what Audrey Hepburn was to Hubert de Givenchy, and showcasing the intellectual allure of this label as compellingly as any show.
