Nobody does form and fluidity quite like Issey Miyake. Taking over the bright expanse of Le Réfectoire des Cordeliers, a former monastery built in the 16th century, IM Men made its runway debut in Paris. Originally launched in 2021, the menswear arm of the revered Japanese label centres itself around its parent brand’s go-to philosophy about redefining what a piece of cloth can create. Intending to seamlessly blend design with engineering, the team behind the showcase set out to “redefine clothing with the approach to both a garment’s form-making and its construction,” according to the show notes.
Referencing the significant Fly with Issey Miyake show from 1977, the presentation took place in an installation-inspired space designed by Japanese artist and designer Tokujin Yoshioka. Sen Kawahara, Yuki Itakura and Nobutaka Kobayashi, the designers behind the collection, were inspired by the endless possibilities of a single piece of fabric, demonstrated by the finale, where models deconstructed their garments until they were a single floating square of fabric. In turn, all eyes were on the brand’s focus on construction. It was complex, with coats and jackets able to be worn in a multitude of different ways, including upside down, with the brand’s lightweight Fly fabric (a development from the one used for its last Air collection) being used as the basis for the garments and giving the collection its name. Other series were presented inside the collection, like Flat Drape, a fabric-heavy segment where skirts, jackets and trousers were created from folds that gave them a floating, willowy shape.
Another series was the outerwear-focused Wall, where silhouettes were boxier and showcased the inner panels of the garment on its exterior. The final sections – Heron, Switch, Metallic Ultra Boa and Kasuri – all had their own distinct character yet continued to embody that same Rubix-cube-like ethos. It was a masterclass in what boundless creativity can do to a single piece of fabric.
Photography courtesy of IM Men.
