Bright Future: Light and Air in Issey Miyake’s Spring/Summer 2014

Kinetic, weightless, effortlessly futuristic, cascading tight pleats and sinewy shapes that recall mutant sportswear: Issey Miyake’s work has established a tradition of pushing the boundaries of technology in fashion while staying attuned to the subtlety and wearability of its pieces in the modern woman's wardrobe.

The Spring/Summer 2014 collection proved to be no exception. As always, we find Miyake plotting a unique trajectory through the fashion universe. This high-concept collection is divided into three thematic sections: starlight, moonlight and sunlight, with each division’s garments manifesting an aesthetic reflection on the unique qualities of light. Starlight’s delicate perforations in leather, treated to have a metallic sheen, hint at the pinpricks of light in the dark sky; while the intense color gradations and sunburst flashes of brilliance in the Sunlight section are a testament to movement and activity in a sunlit realm. Throughout, the shoes gleam and sparkle in a way that would signal attention in the darkness of a film noir Blade Runner-style metropolis. Standout items include fluttering cropped trousers, partnered with futuristic square shoulder tunics, jackets and trousers of thick meshed, knitted grids crossing through belted shorts.

All three sections are united by the cuts’ clean lines and airy quality, a dynamic sense of urban movement and action, and the sheen and flicker of colliding textiles. The result is a serene meditation on the nature of light and shade, and the innovative fabrication techniques and distinctive silhouettes we have come to expect from Issey Miyake.