March 3, 2017 |
This season, the ladies of the House of Miyake are going stargazing. That is, if you count the Aurora Borealis as a formation of stars, which you definitely shouldn’t – it’s actually electrons colliding with the upper reaches of the Earth’s atmosphere (cc: Google). So let’s call it: Northern Lights gazing. That’s what this collection was inspired by – as the notes said: “Aurora Borealis. A veil enveloping the sky. Releasing. Overlapping. Intertwining. Rippling. Shimmering. Changed.” It began with the colours – a beautiful palette of blues and pinks, before exploding this vast, almost psychedelic, rainbow of colour, made to echo the changing hues of the Aurora. But the inspiration infiltrated all the way down to the fabric – the first ten looks were created from raw Shetland wool from sheep that were born and bred under the light. So too the shapes – this fluid, dextrous quality – masterful drapery, naturally, prints that mimicked the house’s signature plisse, which lent the clothes a wavy silhouette, and then of course the pleats themselves. Because what would an Issey Miyake show be without a brief masterclass in the art of pleating? Here, they were used to make these magnificent jackets, tops and dresses, that became these rippling amorphous forms that curved around the edges. Much like the Northern Lights themselves. And just as impressive. We imagine. Because we haven’t actually seen them – we don’t travel north of the M25.
Photographs by Jason Lloyd-Evans
