Miyake’s Exploration

Satoshi Kondo’s career at Issey Miyake began right after his graduation at Ueda College di Osaka where he studied fashion design. He joined the design team at Pleats Please Issey Miyake and soon became its brand designer. By 2017, he entered the Miyake Design Studio, and two years later, he presented his first collection for Spring-Summer 2020 as the designer of Issey Miyake.

How do you define the future?
The fact that the future is unknown and suggests infinite possibilities is what makes it exciting. The future as a concept inspires imagination and imagination is what drives us forward.

Why is the future such an important element of fashion?
The future is the result of what we do today and every day. As designers, we should always think in what ways the things we create relate to society and the environment.

What is one global or social issue currently shaping fashion’s future?
How we as designers can use resources in a creative and innovative way to ultimately save resources and contribute to our environment.

How do you imagine fashion changing over the next decade?
Designers will be more conscious of their creations in relation to the resources used, thereby establishing a more meaningful relationship between fashion and society in general.

How do you imagine your brand evolving over the next decade?
I imagine that Issey Miyake, while staying true to its engagement with design and making, will continue to create original clothing that inspires people, as it reflects the time we live in. More so than ever, it brings forward new possibilities among many creative professions.

What is one thing we can start doing now that could positively impact our future?
To be conscious of the materials we use when we create things. To explore every material’s full potential to make creative use of it.

What is the most defining idea or look in this collection?
This collection is inspired by a narrative of exploration. We translated elements taken from this narrative into original garment forms made possible by new knitting and pleating techniques.

How does this collection compare to your past collections?
Compared with past collections, this collection introduces many new silhouettes and styles, conveying a sense of fluidity with an emphasis on movements of coiling and spiraling.

What remains constant across the past, present, and future of fashion?
The faculty of imagination, supported by research and development on design and making.