Date: Japanese, born 1938

Biography: Considered the founding father of Japanese avant-garde design, Issey Miyake challenged western notions of fashion by re-conceptualizing garment construction and function. In many ways, Miyake's reaction to the formality of western dress, and more specifically that of haute couture, stemmed from a distaste for its pronounced artificiality. After working in Paris at Guy Laroche and Hubert de Givenchy, Miyake left for New York, and under the tutelage of Geoffrey Beene, refined his ideas on dress. He returned to Tokyo in 1970 to found the Miyake Design Studio. Miyake's initial investigations absorbed western influence into eastern tradition in the exploration of texture and volume. His experiments included the use of irregularly shaped fabrics and original textiles, which enveloped the body in nontraditional ways.