Issey Miyake’s famous pleats get a double dose of iconic Japanese artistry in the spring 17 Homme Plissé collection, where a series of robes, jackets, pants, shirts, and a towel are printed with spectacular examples of Shunga, the erotic paintings of Edo period Ukiyo-e artists.
“Everywhere in the world, since the dawn of time, there have existed many art works dealing with lust and passion between the sexes,” a statement from Issey Miyake notes. “Whilst it was prohibited to distribute these artworks openly in public, Shunga art became so popular and in so much demand at that time, that prominent Ukiyo-e artists such as; Hokusai, Utamaro, and Harunobu themselves became involved in its production.”
Hokusai’s famous painting The Dream of the Fisherman’s Wife, which depicts a woman being pleasured by octopuses; Utamaro Kitagawa’s Poem of the Pillow; and Torii Kiyonaga’s Sode no maki (Handscroll for the Sleeve) are transposed onto the collection’s pleated fabric.
“The charm of Shunga art is not merely its obvious eroticism, but rather that is closely linked to its pictorial expression; sometimes humorously deformed sexual organs or spontaneously portrayed sexual acts as well as exquisitely depicted kimono patterns and vividly delineated interiors,” the statement continues. “It is this dynamism for life driven by a sense of humor and the power of everyday eroticism that ordinary people of the time had in addition to their intelligent and urbane way of life, which Homme Plissé Issey Miyake recognizes in Shunga which led to the development of this special series.”
The flexibility and fluid movement of the pleated garments is demonstrated by dancers in a dynamic campaign by Charles Negre and film art directed by Pascal Monfort. Watch the short film below.
Credits
Text Charlotte Gush