Museum exhibits Miyake’s innovations

Down-to-earth clothing celebrates human body

TOKYO, May 31, (AP): Although he’s behind one of the biggest fashion brands to come out of Japan, Issey Miyake detests being called a fashion designer. Maybe a designer, even a sculptor, but not that frivolous, trendwatching, conspicuous consumption known as fashion.

What he has pursued since he started in the 1970s is more timeless. His down-to-earth clothing is meant to celebrate the human body. And it’s anyone’s or everyone’s body — any race, build, size or age.

“The work of Miyake Issey,” at the National Art Center in Tokyo, is a moving journey through his creative mind. The show includes his signature pleats that transform usually crass polyester into chic. In another corner, mannequins are connected by a roll of fabric to highlight his A-POC, or “a piece of cloth,” series that began in 1998. A-POC uses computer technology in weaving to create apparel at the same time fabric is being produced.

Again and again, the exhibit drives home Miyake’s basic concept of a single piece of cloth, be it draped, folded, cut or wrapped, but he does not see the exhibit as a “retrospective,” says Midori Kitamura, president of Miyake Design Studio and the exhibit’s producer.

“He is always forward-looking,” Kitamura said, wearing a black Miyake sweater top that can be cut at the collar and sleeves along perforated lines, and a miniskirt that ruffles like a flower at her hip. “Trying to catch up with him is the story of my career.”

One stark piece aptly called “colombe,” or “dove,” is rectangular, white monofilament fiber resembling soft plastic. It doesn’t use a single stitch but snaps on in a brushstroke of a swirl.

Miyake has taken inspiration from a variety of cultures and societal motifs, as well as everyday items — plastic, rattan, “washi” paper, jute, horsehair, foil, yarn, batik, indigo dyes, wiring.

The exhibit starts with a row of

After ballistics tests, the charges could be upgraded to include murder. Thirtyyear-old Ronald McPhatter died in the shooting.

Prosecutors say Collins recklessly fired a gun five times in a crowded venue with no concern about the consequences.

Defense attorney Scott Leemon says figures donning his early but already powerful works. A jersey body-wear evokes tattooing with images of Jimi Hendrix and Janis Joplin, who died in 1970, the year it was created. His collaboration with Japanese painter Tadanori Yokoo depicts monkeys and foliage in vibrant psychedelic hues on a flowing robe.

Another poignant part of the exhibit highlights the pleated Olympic uniforms for various countries designed by Miyake. In 1992, he was commissioned to design the official uniform for Lithuania, which had just gained independence from the Soviet Union.

Miyake got Japanese material maker Toray to provide the fabric, Japanese sporting goods company Mizuno to handle the production and Polytex of Thailand to do the pleating. Ten more uniforms were created by Miyake in the 1990s, and another 10 for the current exhibit.

“Issey Miyake’s garments of his entire career have been displayed in the grand setting of the National Art Center, Tokyo, as innovative works of art, as they deserve to be,” said John Carpenter, curator of Japanese art at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, who saw the exhibit during a recent visit to Tokyo.

“The imaginative exhibition design and abstract sculptured mannequins by Tokujin Yoshioka add another brilliant artistic dimension,” Carpenter added, referring to the figures wearing the clothes at the exhibit that are artworks in themselves.

Over the years, Miyake has shown a knack for collaborating with people outside his genre, such as designer Yoshioka, furniture and interior designer Shiro Kuramata, photographer Irving Penn, choreographer and director Maurice Bejart, pottery maker Lucie Rie, Ballet Frankfurt and the gymnastics team of Aomori University in northern Japan.

McPhatter wasn’t shot by Collins.

Prosecutors say Collins shot himself in the leg. Leemon says someone else shot Collins. (AP)

MOSCOW:

Abstract

Elton John regrets he didn’t get to meet President Vladimir Putin

Born in Hiroshima in 1938, Miyake was a star as soon as he hit the European runways. His brown top, which combined the Japanese sewn fabric called “sashiko” with raw silk knit, was splashed on the cover of the September 1973 issue of Elle magazine.

Miyake was also a pioneer in gender roles, asking feminist Fusae Ichikawa in the 1970s, when she was in her 80s, to be his model, sending the message that garments must be comfortable and express the natural beauty of real people.

“Designing is like a living organism in that it pursues what matters for its well-being and continuity,” Miyake writes in the book published for the exhibit. “My work’s touchstone phrases are: Making Think, Making Things and Making Reality.”

Miyake’s approach so brings the spiritual to the mundane question of what to wear, one even wonders if it might free one’s soul, bringing to mind the elements, like water, fire, air and the earth, at once futuristic high-tech and handmade primordial.

But Miyake avoids the trap of getting pretentious. One great look he approves of is the T-shirt and jeans. The exhibit includes his version of the gorgeously faded pair of jeans.

Benjamin Lee, a Tokyo-based photographer who has taken Miyake’s portrait as well as those of writer Haruki Murakami and visual artist Yayoi Kusama, believes Miyake is a true innovator, creating art works with clothes. Yet he exuded warmth in person and they laughed together, Lee recalled.

“I was left with the impression of meeting someone special, who understood people very well, and how fashion can make everyday living more interesting and comfortable,” he said.

“The work of Miyake Issey” runs through June 13. His office says overseas exhibitions have not been decided.

during his current trip to Moscow, but says he’s looking forward to meeting the Russian leader in the future to discuss LGBT issues.

Performing Monday before an enthusiastic crowd at a Moscow concert hall, the British rock star thanked Putin for inviting him to “discuss some serious issues

HONG KONG:

Also:

A diamond-encrusted crocodile-skin Hermes handbag with white gold details has broken the record for the world’s most expensive ever sold at auction, fetching nearly $300,000 at a Hong Kong sale.

The rare Himalaya Niloticus Crocodile Diamond Birkin 30 went to an unknown phone bidder late Monday for HK$2.32 million ($298,655), beating a pre-sale estimate of $2 million, the auction house Christie’s said.

“It was the world record price for any handbag sold at auction,” Bingle Lee, a Hong Kong-based spokesman for Christie’s, told AFP.

Designer handbags are increasingly seen as investment opportunities and are the latest craze for collectors, taking global auction houses by storm and scoring record prices.

The new record beat one set last year, also in Hong Kong, when a fuchsia-coloured Hermes bag sold for $222,912.

The handmade bag — described by the London-based auctioneers as the “rarest, most sought-after” — is encrusted with diamonds, while the buckle and trademark mini Hermes padlock are made of 18 carat white gold.

LONDON:

Dior is returning to England’s historic Blenheim Palace to unveil its Cruise collection.

The show Tuesday brings Dior back to the site of earlier triumphs in 1954 and 1958.

The first was spearheaded by Christian Dior and the second by his protege, Yves Saint Laurent. Both were attended by Princess Margaret.

Blenheim, traditionally the residence of the Duke of Marlborough, is one of England’s grandest palaces and was the birthplace of wartime leader Winston Churchill.

The Dior show is timed to highlight the opening of a new boutique in London.

in Russia, including LGBT and HIV and AIDS,” expressing hope they could eventually meet.

John has criticized a Russian law against gay “propaganda” and comments by Putin suggesting that gay people prey on children.

Putin called John in September to say he’d be willing to meet and talk about any issues that concern the gay rock star. His call came after Russian pranksters posing as Putin fooled John, prompting the musician to post an Instagram message thanking Putin for calling. (AP)

INDIANAPOLIS:

Already a regular singing partner with Tony Bennett, Lady Gaga found another golden oldie chart topper to pair with: Mario Andretti.

Gaga was at Indianapolis Motor Speedway for the 100th running of the Indy 500 on Sunday, though she kept a fairly low profile, dressed down in jean shorts with her hair pulled back in a tight ponytail.

Gaga and 1969 Indy 500 winner Andretti rolled onto the track with the field of 33 drivers before Sunday’s race in a custom-built, two-seat Indy car. Gaga was a late substitute for country star Keith Urban, who was unable to participate after injuring his back.

Gaga gave Andretti and team owner Michael Andretti kisses on the cheek before the start of the race.

“Travel to any corner of the globe and people know exactly who Lady Gaga is,” Indianapolis Motor Speedway President Doug Boles said. (AP)