“Hands have been weaving, sewing and giving new shape to cloth. Yet, what if we could play with the shape more freely as if kneading dough or molding clay?” the show notes at Issey Miyake asked.
Never one to shy away from new textile techniques, designer Yoshiyuki Miyamae answered the question by creating looks with a new material, dubbed Dough Dough, whose shape can be modulated easily — with a twist or a crumple. One dress or hat may be transformed in a myriad of ways, as the models on the runway displayed with glee.
Hands also create art, like Issey Miyake’s design team did, painting with traditional Japanese brooms. The resulting patterns were morphed into prints, with some ink-jetted and others woven in jacquards used to construct the clothes. One simple, short-sleeved dress had smatterings of purple, pink, blue and green, reminiscent of an Impressionist painting. Wide-legged trousers were splashed with colorful, vertical lines and dabs, and a skirt came decorated with a patchworklike effect.
This wearable collection had a light, joyful spirit, heightened by whimsical hats made from brooms or the new fabric.