Raincoat

Issey Miyake

ca. 1984 · (a, b) cotton, nylon, metal · Costume Institute

Issey Miyake’s earliest designs in the 1970s combined regional apparel traditions with Western high-fashion aesthetics in designs that focused on the two-dimensional quality of textiles. Miyake’s interest in fiber technology led to his development of a pleating process in the early 1990s that allowed him to create garments in complex geometries and sculptural silhouettes. This outsize raincoat, cut in a square shape reminiscent of Japanese robes, envelopes and obscures the figure. The silhouette takes shape when fastened with snaps at the neck, back, sides, and hem. When flat, the coat folds into a compact rectangle.

Artist

Issey Miyake

Date

ca. 1984

Medium

(a, b) cotton, nylon, metal

Culture

Japanese

Department

Costume Institute

Credit line

Gift of Jo Ann Paganetti, 2015