Japanese fashion designer Issey Miyake dead at 84


The fashion industry has lost another icon. Japanese designer Issey Miyake has died, CNN Style reports. He was 84.
Miyake Design Office confirmed Tuesday that the designer died last week, on Aug. 5, of liver cancer, according to NPR. Miyake was well-known for creating "timeless pleats" and became internationally renowned "in the 1980s with avant-garde designs that those who could afford his luxury pieces immediately regarded as collector's items," CNN notes. His work is now "preserved at institutions including London's Victoria and Albert Museum, New York's Museum of Modern Art, and the Philadelphia Museum of Art."
Miyake's creations stood out to the point that they "defined an era in Japan's modern history," NPR adds, noting that the designer used computer methods "in weaving to create apparel." He also took inspiration from a "variety of cultures and societal motifs," all while sticking to his own basic concept.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Born in Hiroshima in 1938, Miyake was serious when it came to what he saw for his brand. There were times when he "even detested being called a fashion designer, choosing not to identify with what he saw as a frivolous, trend-watching, conspicuous consumption," NPR writes.
With respect to Miyake's wishes, his office said a funeral service would be held with his family and close friends, but there would not be a memorial service.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Kelsee Majette has worked as a social media editor at The Week since 2022. In 2019, she got her start in local television as a digital producer and fill-in weather reporter at NTV News. Kelsee also co-produced a lifestyle talk show while working in Nebraska and later transitioned to 13News Now as a digital content producer.
-
Today's political cartoons - May 10, 2025
Cartoons Saturday's cartoons - artificial intelligence, cryptocurrency, and more
-
5 streetwise cartoons about defunding PBS
Cartoons Artists take on immigrant puppets, defense spending, and more
-
Dark chocolate macadamia cookies recipe
The Week Recommends These one-bowl cookies will melt in your mouth
-
Shakespeare not an absent spouse, study proposes
speed read A letter fragment suggests that the Shakespeares lived together all along, says scholar Matthew Steggle
-
New Mexico to investigate death of Gene Hackman, wife
speed read The Oscar-winning actor and his wife Betsy Arakawa were found dead in their home with no signs of foul play
-
Giant schnauzer wins top prize at Westminster show
Speed Read Monty won best in show at the 149th Westminster Kennel Club dog show
-
Beyoncé, Kendrick Lamar take top Grammys
Speed Read Beyoncé took home album of the year for 'Cowboy Carter' and Kendrick Lamar's diss track 'Not Like Us' won five awards
-
The Louvre is giving 'Mona Lisa' her own room
Speed Read The world's most-visited art museum is getting a major renovation
-
Honda and Nissan in merger talks
Speed Read The companies are currently Japan's second and third-biggest automakers, respectively
-
Taylor Swift wraps up record-shattering Eras tour
Speed Read The pop star finally ended her long-running tour in Vancouver, Canada
-
Drake claims illegal boosting, defamation
Speed Read The rapper accused Universal Music of boosting Kendrick Lamar's diss track and said UMG allowed him to be falsely accused of pedophilia