Issey Miyake

The Fashion Statement: The Rise of Flatforms

After a long run, the precarious platform shoes we've seen for much of the last decade are giving a new, flatter platform. Or, as I'm calling them-flatforms.

If fashion soothsayers have names like Marc Jacobs, Fendi and Derek Lam, platforms here to stay-in fact, we can expect to see them through fall 2011 (Issey Miyake, above)-but gone are the high arches and their impossible heights. In their place are gentle graduated slopes full of the promise of easy promenades that don't give up much of the stature of their predecessors. That's not to say, these flatter versions are without danger. A fall show in New York featured flatform combat boots that made at least two female models and one male model fall flat on their faces.

By and large, though, this spring designers are delivering walkable wedges with no shortage of style. Marc Jacobs' platforms bring us back to the '70s with their rainbow colors adorning the arches of the shoe. Fendi confounds modern architectural rules with platforms that seem to come in three separate sections-a heel in emerald green, a mid-shoe in brown and a toe in natural wood with a bright blue strap. Derek Lam is probably the most traditional-basic Maryjanes in camel opened-toe or off-white closed toe upon natural-grained wood.

Tags: Derek Lam, Fendi, flatforms, Issey Miyake, Marc Jacobs, platforms

Continue reading “The Fashion Statement: The Rise of Flatforms”

The Fashion Statement: Will 2011 be the Year of the Hat?

by Kristin Young (RSS feed) —

Filed under: The Fashion Statement

Hats worn for the express purpose of style hasn't been widely popular since the '20s. Millinery did have a brief comeback in the '80s when Princess Diana gave visibility to the British tradition of wearing hats for special occasions. Now Kate Middleton is again putting a modern face under the British topper. And numerous designers on both sides of the pond made the hat a central focus of their spring/summer runway collections. And then there is Lady Gaga entertaining us all with her theatrical chapeaus.

Not since the '80s have we seen so many hats! So we wonder: Could 2011 be the year of the hat?

Arguably the most buzzed about accessory of the season was the colorful, wide-brimmed hat like the one above at Prada. Badgley Mischka and Marc Jacobs channeled Jodi Foster in Taxi Driver with their bright pink versions shown over hair that had been appropriately curled and frizzed. Sally Field in The Flying Nun would have fit right in at Missoni where almost every model wore hats that flapped down the runway like wings. And Alberta Ferretti went boho by pairing floppy fringed brims with her collection of gauzy ethereal gowns.

Gallery: Hat Gallery

Tags: Alberta Ferretti, ann demeulemeester, Anna Sui, BadgleyMischka, Carolina Herrera, Christian Dior, dsquared2, Giles Deacon, Hermes, issey miyake, John Galliano, John paul gaultier, just cavalli, Kate Middleton, Lady Gaga, Missoni, moschino, Prada, Princess Diana, Sonia Rykiel, YohjiYamamoto

Continue reading “The Fashion Statement: Will 2011 be the Year of the Hat?”

Evian Unveils Issey Miyake Bottle

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Evian has announced its latest designer collaboration. The spring water brand has worked with fashion designer Issey Miyake to create the fourth annual limited edition designer bottle. Miyake joins previous Evian bottle designers Christian Lacroix, Jean Paul Gaultier, and Paul Smith. The cheery bottle is decorated with a bright flower meant to embody the evian signature message, "Live young." The inspiration for the bottle sprung from the Pleats Please line for which Issey Miyake is known. The Issey Miyake Limited Edition evian bottle is now available for pre-sale at www.ShopEvian.com. For more information on the collaboration, including a special Issey Miyake animated movie, visit facebook.evian.com.

Gallery: Evian

Tags: evian, evian water, issey miyake

Issey Miyake "Hu" Watch Designed By Ross Lovegrove

by Ariel Adams (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Timepieces / Watches

Soft avant garde lines, and a unique face makes this almost novelty watch standout a bit more than you might expect. The watch is called the "Hu" and is designed by popular award-winning designer Ross Lovegrove (what a last name). It will be sold under the Issey Miyake watch brand name, who himself is a clothes designer who has a growing watch line. Plus, the watch will be built by Seiko, so it is up to you to decide exactly who this watch "comes from." Seiko and Issey Miyake (both Japanese) have actually been working together since 2001.

What gets me is the interesting theme behind the organic looking Hu watch. According to Lovegrove, the concept is that the watch should look like an extension of your body - as though it was growing out of your wrist. Sure the colors don't exactly match, but that would just look weird. The Hu watch is made of titanium with a rubber strap and comes in gray, white, and black. The dial of the watch is very simple. It shows just the hours and minutes, with only two hour indicator points - fine for those people who don't need such embellishments. I for one, DO need such embellishments. The movement is a Seiko quartz, of course. Despite the simple nature of the watch, it does look quite nice, and I look forward to seeing it on some wrists soon.

Ariel Adams publishes the luxury watch review site aBlogtoRead.com.

Tags: hu, issey miyake, IsseyMiyake, japanese, ross lovegrove, RossLovegrove, timepiece, watch

Chair Wear

by Nicole Weston (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Apparel, Decor

I will come right out and say that I do not agree with Issey Miyake's decision to make dual-purpose furniture and clothing, but given that he is making it using A-POC, cloth made in a revolutionary new process that is entirely done by machine, it could conceivably be the wave of the future. Make that the ripple of the future, because his newest creation is based on the design of a chair called "Ripple" that he made last year with designer Ron Arad. The new product, known as Gemini, is "a streamlined, body-cushioning seat pillow made of A-POC fabric, which morphs into an elegant body-hugging jacket." Elegant is not the word that I would use, but there is no doubt that this is a fairly innovative use for seat cushioning, an object that's only significant accomplishment (aside from actually cushioning the seat) to date has been doubling as a flotation device on airplanes. The Gemini chair cushion debuted in Milan and will be available retail in Miyake shops later this year for $1,360.