Design is about doing something fun.

It's a positive, energizing force.

I take pride in the fact that
I'm doing something meaningful.

Issey Miyake.

One of the world's most iconic clothing designers.

His prolific output of innovative designs spanned half a century.

His clothes are magical, free, and fun.

He revolutionized the value of clothing.

Through clothing design,

he was always thinking about
his responsibility to society.

Miyake's clothes were beloved by international stars

and everyday people alike.

I love his designs,
which are poetic and at times cheerful.

I think the clothes that they made is very impressive and is a piece of art.

But for many years, there was something that he kept hidden deep within himself.

I have said that
I was born in Hiroshima,

but not that I was there
when the atomic bomb was dropped.

At the age of seven, Miyake was present for a horrific moment of human history.

That experience became a driving force for his vision as a designer.

He felt that being alive
was a wonderful thing.

At his core, there was
a strong wish for peace.

He poured this into his designs.

Hello.

The day I was born, or rather...

Today...

Issey Miyake is known
for the body and clothes.

So to begin,
this is how I was born.

A photo from my first birthday.

Miyake was born in 1938 during the second Sino-Japanese War.

At the time, Hiroshima was an important industrial city with a military base.

When I was a child,
my father was a soldier in Manchuria.

So my mother was
in charge of everything.

For festivals, she made trousers
out of fishermen's flags.

My mother was stylish,
but simple hearted.

She cared very much for her children.

But Miyake's family life was transformed in a flash.

"August 6th, 1945
The Atomic Bombing of Hiroshima"

Then a seven-year-old, Miyake was at school,

5 kilometers away from the epicenter of the bomb.

Searching for his mother, he walked towards the explosion.

In a rare interview on the radio when Miyake was 74 years old,

he spoke about the details of his experience.

Just after the morning assembly,

there was a huge "bang"
and a flash of light.

I remember the light
turned red, then black.

Shards of glass
pierced my body and head.

I returned home to find my mother.

What I saw was something
I can never forget.

It's difficult to talk about even now.

"An estimated 140,000 people died
by the end of 1945"

"Countless others suffered
radiation damage and discrimination"

Half of my mother's body was
covered in keloid scars.

Even so, she was energetic,
at least for a short while.

Those injuries from the bombing
were the cause...

Yes, she died three years later.

"Schoolmate
Takahashi Hiroshi"

These memories make me nostalgic.

His mother died, and he endured so much
due to the bombing,

but drawing opened up a new world.

Despite poverty,
he dove into his art.

A teacher in our elementary school
was passionate about drawing.

He was an ex-soldier.

We came in an hour early
and participated in his croquis sessions.

We sat in a circle
and drew each other using pencils.

For Issey Miyake,
that was a starting point.

"Miyake's High School"

I went to Kokutaiji High School
and was part of the art club.

I had many friends.

We hiked mountains,
photographed, and sketched.

It was a very healthy environment.

Normally, you would sketch in a room,

but we learned our skills
by being active.

Seven years after the end of the war,

a unique design emerges in the devastated city of Hiroshima.

My first encounter with design
was this bridge.

It's called the Peace Bridge.

I used to ride my bike across.

I thought, "This is design."

I knew then
I wanted to become a designer.

The bridge was designed by the renowned sculptor, Isamu Noguchi.

“The design was intended to convey
the rebuilding of Hiroshima.”

The power to revive.

I saw that in Hiroshima.

Sometimes I wonder
what it means to be from Hiroshima.

If I can say that being Hiroshima-born
was a good thing,

it's feeling that ability within myself.

As his hometown starts to revive, Miyake leaves to attend an art university in Tokyo.

Thanks for seeing me off.

I was shy, but happy you came.

It's day 4 of university.

I'll work hard.
I don't want to lose to anyone.

I can't be fooling around.

Time to get serious.

Those scenes from the aftermath
of the atomic bomb.

I'm sure he has always lived with them.

He lived, while many didn't.

That's what kept him going.

In the years that follow,

Miyake almost never talks about his experience of the atomic bomb.

He begins pursuing his path as a designer.

His talent stands out right from his student years.

After graduation, he puts on a show that attracts a great deal of attention.

In 1965, Miyake moves to Paris.

I worked in haute couture.

Amongst the clients were
the powerful and rich,

wives of politicians,
these kinds of people.

May 1968.

Students and workers in solidarity protest the existing social systems.

When the May protests happened,

I was witnessing
the arrival of a new era.

An era for all people.

It's still one of
the most impactful events

I have experienced in my life.

While studying haute couture,

Miyake thought about
who clothes were made for.

In this post-war period,

the protests were
a rejection of the old systems.

After that experience,

he decided to make
clothing for the people.

Clothing as products
to be worn by the people of the world.

This was a formative moment for him.

His convictions became clear.

In 1970, Miyake establishes a studio in Tokyo.

He searches for a new approach to clothing design.

He was like a volcano,
bubbling with lava.

Just incredibly energetic.

I couldn't believe he was human.

That explosiveness.

He had questions about the boundaries
between fashion, design, and art.

He didn't say that,
but I felt it strongly.

The reason I wanted to
set up a design studio in Japan.

Western ideas about clothing design,

or what fashions are in style now...

I didn't reject them,

but I wanted to make clothing
while looking at the times from a far.

Like a slowly flowing river,

I wanted to expand my ideas
at my own pace.

Miyake shapes his ideas into life.

He describes his work as "skin-making."

"Skin-making," what an expression.

By wearing clothes,
you can obtain a new skin

that is different from
your original skin.

As if to enhance
the ability of your own skin.

Like a second skin that pursues
the functional, spiritual, and aesthetic.

He was curious about the expression of
the person's inner self on their skin.

So he was also interested in tattoos.

Tattoos can be a prayer for the deceased.

Tattoo patterns were
put on thin cotton bodywear.

This became an important expression
of Miyake's "skin-making."

Paying close attention to the materials used for his garments,

Miyake visits many kinds of traditional fabric-making sites.

This factory he frequented in the region of Tohoku produces "homespun" wool fabrics.

I was flabbergasted.

He was the most exciting
new designer at the time.

So I was surprised that he came to us.

He said,
"Let's make a vest out of floss silk."

I was shocked.
A vest out of this?

That was truly a designer's idea.

We're just a small family business.

I was so grateful that
he came to a place like ours.

Miyake thinks deeply about his philosophies of clothing design.

Eventually, he articulates his ideas into a clear concept:

"A piece of cloth."

The idea was to let the air flow

without cutting the fabric
as much as possible.

Thus it became "a piece of cloth."

At first I thought it was unique to
Japan and the kimono.

But people in India and Africa
wear a single piece of cloth too,

and it's extremely beautiful.

I realized this must be universal.

To create your own space between
the body and the cloth.

Western clothes are made
to fit the shape of the body.

Fabrics, or historically fur,
are cut into small pieces,

and sewn together three-dimensionally.

Miyake's "a piece of cloth" is made by

taking a large piece of cloth
and wrapping it around the body.

Into the history of fashion,

he introduced a new perspective
with values from Japan.

It was groundbreaking.

It's the epitome of "less is more."

Where there is nothing,
there is abundance.

Truly,

no excess.

A piece of cloth
with infinite richness.

But in the 1980s, the times head in a different direction.

Consumers seek more flashy and eccentric designs.

Miyake also experiments with various styles.

There was a time
I wanted to quit being a designer.

It was in the 1980s.

Expectations were for a designer
to create "unusual" products.

I was creating designs that were

increasingly bulky
and detached from daily life.

I was fed up with myself.

I decided to travel to Greece
with only a backpack.

It was wonderful.

Just carrying
spare underwear and socks.

At that moment, I felt
that a different world must be out there.

Miyake returns to his simple concept of "a piece of cloth."

This leads him to use fabric that is processed with unique folds, called "pleats."

I first made pleated scarves.

Folded them into a diamond shape
and then pleated.

Because of the thin material,

they could be folded
into four or eight layers.

I found it interesting
and quickly sewed two spots.

Then it became a blouse.

"This is it," I thought.

I realized I was on to something.

That was the starting point.

Miyake reverses the typical process by sewing, twisting and folding the fabric first,

and then pleating it.

A completely new type of garment is born.

We had an idea.

I borrowed some fabric from the factory
and sewed a T-shirt.

I folded the shirt in my own unique way,
and put it into a pleating machine.

When I opened the pleated garment,

I saw something I had never seen before.

As a result, the clothes become
compact and foldable.

The pleats are permanent,

so they are functional
for things like travel.

Before, pleats flowed only vertically,

but now they can also move

diagonally, horizontally,
and in all directions.

In this way, the pleats challenge
even the force of gravity.

I'm still working on this project
with a childlike sparkle in my eyes.

Miyake's pleats continue to evolve, becoming his signature work.

While he achieves success around the world,

Miyake says few words about his hometown of Hiroshima.

But then, at age 52, he receives the first ever "Hiroshima Art Prize."

Do you return to Hiroshima often?
Or do you rarely come home?

I'm afraid it's the latter.

I'm happy that people from
around the world nominated me

to receive the Hiroshima Art Prize.

I feel a bit embarrassed.

As I mentioned earlier,

this is the first award of its kind
in Hiroshima.

Although I feel happy
this award was set up

and I am receiving it...

It's just that...

How should I explain...

I've lived my life like a wanderer,

which fueled
my creations and imagination.

So I feel as if I've been caught
doing something wrong.

As if I've been told,
"Come home."

The world now knows
my connection to Hiroshima.

Miyake asked to put on a fashion show,
and I was surprised.

As my mind goes to money first,

I shamefully asked him
how much it was going to cost.

He said, "Don't worry about money.
Let's just do the show."

So I accepted his kind offer.

He wanted to present a proper show
for the people of Hiroshima.

It is around this time that a friend of Miyake's listens to his innermost feelings.

We talked about the bombing of Hiroshima
and his mother's suffering.

He told stories about the horrors of
the nuclear attack on Hiroshima.

For Issey, it was
an unforgettable event,

and the memory
is etched in his body.

Miyake's first fashion show in his hometown.

It's also the first show of its kind in Hiroshima since the war.

In the show's finale, Miyake showcases a special garment.

That was also one piece of cloth.

Made from filament, a taut fabric
with beautiful thread that looks wet.

It's as if the surface of water
appears on the fabric.

But it's a very difficult fabric to sew.

He resolved to make it into clothing.

By heat-cutting the fabric and using snap fasteners, a new form is born.

The ultimate a-piece-of-cloth design, using no needles or thread.

Miyake's designs are difficult to create
if you only think about it in your head.

You have to actually cut it, wrap it,
and feel it around your skin.

That's how the clothing comes to life.

Miyake names this design,

"Colombe."

In French it means "dove"; the symbol of peace.

Miyake's wish for peace
was always on his mind.

It was a moment I felt his message

clearly expressed
through his clothing design.

He never said that he was
doing it for Hiroshima.

Yet, he chose to present this to us.

I felt that Hiroshima had been
the foundation for Miyake's life,

and that he cherished Hiroshima.

Creating a wonderful world
from a piece of cloth,

from almost nothing.

How epic of a creation you can make
from a basic shape.

Miyake's dedication to this concept shows

he was looking out to the world
with his feet planted in Hiroshima.

In the show's pamphlet, Miyake writes the following:

"One cannot create clothing
without appreciating the more basic relationship
between man and nature,"

"and I believe the root of this understanding
lies in the fundamental wish for peace."

For the 1992 Barcelona Olympics,

Miyake designs the uniforms for Lithuania,

a nation that had recently gained independence from the Soviet Union.

A nation burning with hope,
ready to join the rest of the world.

I wanted to express that.

He is also quick to recognize the urgency of climate change,

and focuses on the potential of regenerated fabrics.

This is a very ecological idea, it's clothes for the 21st century.

21st century, you are not going to wear plastic.

You have to use reborn fabric.

Otherwise, the earth is going to die, really.

This is avant-garde.

Avant-garde is beyond the time.

Miyake was a man of great sensibility.

His limitless curiosity was
what supported his sensibility.

He always saw what was new.

It was like encountering an alien.

Constantly interacting with people
outside the fashion industry,

he wanted to be in the know.

That's why he was able to possess
a broad perspective.

For me, clothing design is
at the frontline of the times.

That is the role of the designer.

Our job is to unravel conceptual ideas.

Miyake continues to expand the possibilities for "a piece of cloth."

His work pushes the boundaries of the relationship between people and clothing.

Along with up-and-coming designers, Miyake presents A-POC.

Computer programming is used to weave a tube-shaped cloth.

The garment emerges from simply cutting the fabric,

without the need to sew it together.

In collaboration with computer scientists and using the concept of "a piece of cloth,"

various three-dimensional forms are created.

He would say,
"Design is ever-changing."

He kept an eye on the world

and transformed his designs flexibly
according to the changing times.

As time passes and our lifestyles change,
clothing changes too.

The design should not follow the times,

but rather,
the design should change the times.

That's the most important thing
we learned from him.

His ideas spread like a plant,
a tree that keeps growing and growing.

In this day and age,

when you think about what is necessary,

it's not something that will be
consumed in large quantities,

but something that moves people.

There are so many things
happening around us,

but creating allows you to make
new discoveries and connect to the world.

At the age of 71, Miyake encounters a turning point in his life.

Barack Obama is elected President of the United States.

He declares that he will seek to achieve a world without nuclear weapons.

Moved by Obama's speech, Miyake makes a crucial decision.

In an article written for the New York Times, he reveals his experience of the atomic bomb.

"I have never chosen to share my memories
or thoughts of that day."

"I have tried, albeit unsuccessfully,
to put them behind me,"

"preferring to think of things
that can be created, not destroyed,
and that bring beauty and joy."

"I gravitated toward the field of clothing design,
partly because it is a creative format
that is modern and optimistic."

"I tried never to be defined by my past."

"I did not want to be labeled
'the designer who survived the atomic bomb,'"

"and therefore I have always avoided
questions about Hiroshima.
They made me uncomfortable."

"But now I realize
it is a subject that must be discussed
if we are ever to rid the world of nuclear weapons."

Further, Miyake calls upon President Obama to visit Hiroshima.

I heard over the phone that
he decided to write the article.

I felt relieved for him.

I thought, "Finally."

After that, he gradually began
to talk about various things.

One night, he said over the phone,

"I got my Hibakusha (atomic bomb victim)
Certificate today."

I will never forget those words.

Seeing him open up about his experience
to the people around him...

That left a strong impression on me.

Only 2 years later in 2011,

the Tohoku region and surrounding areas are hit with a devastating earthquake and tsunami.

"Over 20,000 dead or missing"

"Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant becomes the site of
one of history's worst nuclear disasters"

Miyake quickly decided to open
an exhibition on the theme of Tohoku.

I was surprised by his swift action.

He contacted
the local craftspeople in Tohoku

with whom he had worked previously.

He immediately began preparing
for the exhibition with his staff.

There are different ways to provide support,

but in my case, the people of Tohoku
helped me out with many projects.

I thought it would be good if I could

give them energy through
working on the exhibition.

He was concerned
about our well-being.

It wasn't someone else's problem.

For Miyake, it was personal.

When the disaster happened,
he said, "Not again."

Because of what he had endured
in Hiroshima.

Thank you so much
for letting us participate.

You're going to get busy.

Thank you.

During this special exhibition, Miyake requests a poem to be read about the atomic bombing.

Give me back my father.

Give me back my mother.

Give me back my grandparents.

Give me back my children.

Give me back myself.

Give me back my people.

As long as men live in this world,

Immutable peace,

Bring back peace.

I was so moved,
as if my whole body was being filled up.

Thank you very much.

It feels like a dream come true.

It was an unforgettable time.

I feel a great deal of emotion
in Miyake's designs.

Being exposed to the atomic bomb
at seven years old,

he endured hardships

and was surrounded by
people going through a difficult time.

Naturally, those experiences were
ingrained in his body.

That's why he can sympathize with others.

For him, emotion comes before creativity.

His creativity stems from his emotions.

In 2016, Miyake's hopes are realized.

Barack Obama becomes the first sitting U.S. President to visit Hiroshima.

Behind the scenes, Miyake had been trying to convince President Obama.

At Issey's request,

I wrote a number of letters
to President Obama.

I wrote two or three times
asking him to take action

that would reach
the hearts of the Japanese people.

I couldn't say no to Issey Miyake.

And above all because
Hiroshima is a serious matter.

He was happy when Obama visited.

He said, "Thank you for helping me
make my wish come true."

That same year, an exhibition is held.

For the first time, it showcases designs from Miyake's entire 45-year career.

"Colombe," the design he unveiled in Hiroshima, symbolizing peace.

Miyake chooses it as the cover image for the exhibition catalog.

At first, we were going to present
his new work on the cover,

but he wanted some time
to think about it.

Eventually, he presented his idea.

Ultimately, he chose Colombe.

"Issey Miyake
1938 – 2022"

"I believe there is hope in Design.
Design evokes surprise and joy in people."