Designer Yusuke Takahashi and Japanese photographer Yoshinori Mizutani collaborated on the most recent Issey Miyake men’s collection through a mutual fascination with metropolitan beauty, translating still photographs of Tokyo and Mexico City into their spring/summer 2016 Men’s Collection line. The garments differ dramatically from the tight grids and architectural lines we saw for fall 2015, instead showing a softer, seasonally appropriate alternate version of the elegance that we associate with the fashion house.
The first portion features photographs of Tokyo’s wild parrots in various sizes and bold colors. Several yellow birds are juxtaposed against a royal blue palette and sharply tailored silhouettes. On softer pink fabrics, the green colored parrots are placed together, forming a shape that looks like the leaves of a tree branch. The collection then transitions into a bolder scene, as suddenly as the sharp contrasts of a city. Taking inspiration from the architecture of Mexico City, to be exact, the looks pair together bold color blocking in rich tones of blue, pink and yellow. The occasional all black and grey looks break up the changing shades of bright colors, but even those are presented in a way that feels light, taking the form of a sheer black jacket or a black-and-white spotted t-shirt. The fabrics and cuts are loose fitting in a way that is meant to be as beautiful in motion as they are in stillness. The line ends with more of Mizutani’s photographs of Tokyo, adding texture and excitement through even bolder uses of shades and patterns to short and shirt combinations, accessorized by matching scarves.
Issey Miyake men’s spring/summer 2016 reflects the refreshing nature of the urban oases that served as the artistic inspiration.
