Issey Miyake invents ready-to-mould fashion

By

Dominique Muret

Published
Sep 28, 2018

Collars that ballooned around models' necks, skirt corners that were twisted into spirals, bows that blossomed on shoulders, tops that ruched, a bag that was transformed into a tricorne and worn on the head – with its latest collection, Issey Miyake has invented the sculpture-garment, a fun "ready-to-mould" take on fashion, which can be modelled and remodelled to suit the wearer's whim. 

At its Spring/Summer 2019 runway, the Japanese brand unveiled "Dough Dough" an innovative new material which looks like it has a promising future in today's constantly changing society. The fabric is made using polyethylene and is not steam treated, which means that it keeps all of its flexibility. Contrary to what one might think, this silk-effect cotton does not contain any wiring!
 
"It's like plasticine. Having concentrated on very technical materials like Steam Stretch for five years, I wanted to return to that sense of touch and manual work which has disappeared in our technological world. It gives total freedom to whoever's wearing the clothes, offering them the possibility to create the shape that they want," Yoshiyuki Miyamae, creative director at the brand since 2011, told FashionNetwork.com. 

Off the body, the basic skirts and tops look like simple squares but take shape as soon as the wearer puts them on, creasing, kneading, folding and stretching them as they please with their own bare hands. The designer's runway show therefore offered up a series of monochrome dresses, skirts and tops that changed in shape from one model to another, all of which were suspended simply from straps. 
 

"For the moment, the accessories offer more possibilities, like the hats and the bags, because you can really get all the shapes you want just by turning one of the edges up or down," pointed out the designer, who is hoping to continue exploring the new material's possibilities in future collections. "I'd like to develop this same kind of malleable material in leathers and other fabrics," he concluded.