Japanese fashion designer Issey Miyake has designed a range of clothing that expand from two-dimensional geometric shapes into structured shirts, skirts, pants and dresses.

Ten basic two-dimensional patterns make up the collection, the eventual garments being decided by the lines the patterns are cut along and their position.

Many clothing variations can be created by utilising the patterns in various scales and combinations.

The project was inspired by the work of computer scientist Jun Mitani who creates three-dimensional structures with smoothly curved surfaces by folding flat materials.

The designers used a computer modelling program designed by Mitani to design the three dimensional forms of the garments, which are then modeled in paper adding cuts and fold lines until the forms can be flattened.

The project was undertaken by Miyake's Reality Lab, a research and development team formed by Miyake, textile engineer Manabu Kikuchi and pattern engineer Sachinko Yamamoto.

The 132 5. flagship store has been designed by Tokujin Yoshioka and will open this autumn.

Photos are by Hiroshi Iwasaki.

Here are more details from Issey Miyake:

“132 5. ISSEY MIYAKE” ― Born from a union between mathematics and clothes making .

In the autumn of 2010, ISSEY MIYAKE’s Reality Lab. will present “132 5. ISSEY MIYAKE”.  Reality Lab. is a research and development team lead by Issey Miyake and two staff members, Manabu Kikuchi (textile engineer) and Sachiko Yamamoto (pattern engineer) and comprised of a group of designers, some of whom are young and relatively new to the Miyake Design Studio.

The team was formed in 2007, and currently has 8 members. The Reality Lab. is a project based upon the principal of collaboration and teamwork . Their goal is, through research, to explore the future of making things from clothing to industrial products. The Reality Lab. always seeks to create products that reflect what people need and to find new ways to stimulate creative production in Japan.

Clothes and products
Keywords: regeneration, re-creation

Japan has always created beautiful and beautifully-made things by striking a balance in work that lies between the aesthetic and the practical. Today, however is a very different era. One example of this is the current situation that surrounds the manufactures. Unfortunately, cost-cutting often becomes a factory’s primary motivating factor. As a result, talented workers, the very backbone of the local manufacturing strength, are lost.   How to pass on and educate the valuable technical skills remain as the major problem to be solved. We need to be aware that we are at a crossroads in human history, where our natural and human resources are at risk. Our goals must be to find new environmentally-friendly ways by which to continue the art of creation, to utilize our valuable human skills and to make things that will bring joy.

Issey Miyake has always made a point of visiting local material production areas & factories spread all over the country, and developing close working relationships with those working at each site. The exhibition which opened at 21_21 DESIGN SIGHT in 2008 was entitled “ XXIst Century Man” and was born from Miyake’s (who also curated the exhibition)  experiences (and incorporating research by the Reality Lab.). It examined our way of life and the current global environmental crisis with an eye toward new means by which to make things.  In 2010, we will present a new project:  “132 5. ISSEY MIYAKE”, based upon one of the latest developments from the Reality Lab. team’s ongoing research. “132 5. ISSEY MIYAKE” continues the exploration into the process of creation and production and offers a new process being developed at the Miyake Design Studio.

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A conversation with computer scientist Jun Mitani, a researcher of mathematical methods by which to create three-dimensional structures through the folding of flat paper.

A single piece of cloth is folded into a square. When one grasps the top of the folded square and pulls it upwards, a three-dimensional shape is revealed. The shape, in this case, an item of clothing, is produced by the folds and determined by all acute angles and triangles that make up the structure.

A total of ten basic patterns (i.e. forms when folded) become shirts, skirts, pants, and one-piece dresses depending on the cut-lines in different positions.  There are many other variations of the clothes created by different sizes of the same shapes and different combinations of shapes.

The Reality Lab’.s team first met computer scientist Jun Mitani (Associate Professor at the Graduate School of System and Information Engineering, University of Tsukuba) who is specialized in form modeling in computer graphics and were introduced to his unique geometric shapes in 2008. Inspired by CG application* developed by Dr. Mitani that creates three-dimensional paper model with smoothly curved surface out of a single flat sheet of  paper, the team embarked upon a new adventure in research.

* It is the CG software to create geometric shapes that contain three-dimensional forms with symmetrical axis.  Its characteristics are to create the shapes by folding a sheet of paper.  Dr. Mitani conducts mathematical research on the creation of three-dimensional forms by folding a flat material.

First, the Reality Lab. team digitally designs three-dimensional shapes, using the CG application. Then, they use the diagrams to make 3D shapes from paper; and study ways by which they can then be returned into folded-flat shapes. In order to return them to flat, planar shapes, it is necessary to incorporate “fold lines” and “cut lines”, which are not included in the original CG diagrams. The Reality Lab.’s collective experience is critical to the process, as they have to look at each piece of clothing from the standpoint of its aesthetics and comfort.

The beauty when folded, the elegance and gracefulness when worn, “132 5. ISSEY MIYAKE” fuses the mathematics of folding and the art of clothes making. It is an exploration of ways by which to make many different products as well as to forge new relationships between clothing and the human form.

132 5. ― The meaning behind the numbers

The name, 132 5. was born from the above-mentioned process. Each of the numerals has a special significance. The numeral “1” refers to a single piece of cloth, while “3” refers to its three-dimensional shape. The following “2” comes from the fact that a 3D piece of material is folded into a two-dimensional shape, and the “5” separated by a single space refers to the time between when the folded forms are made and people actually put them on, giving birth to clothing. The numeral “5” also signifies our hope that this idea will have many other permutations.

The future of materials, resources and making things

One of the many goals that the Reality Lab. shares is to search for and develop materials that do not depend on fossil fuels. One of the fruits of their research has been PET, a material generated by Teijin Limited from chemical recycling by pulverizing, melting and “spinning” threads out of polyethylene terephthalate.  This is the polyester fiber used to make all  “132 5. ISSEY MIYAKE” clothing.

Using this revolutionary recycled material (fibers), the Reality Lab. came up with original ideas by which to further improve the fibers to yield more comfortable clothes. This work was done in conjunction with the textile-producing factories that have long been associated  with ISSEY MIYAKE’s work.

Teijin Limited, a leading producer of polyester fibers made from chemical recycling, has begun a resource recycling system called “Eco-Circle”. The system is truly the first of its kind: recovered polyester fabric items can be broken down at the molecular level and reprocessed into highly-pure raw materials over and over. The resulting materials do not fall in quality or degrade even after repeated processing, and compared to making new polyester materials from petroleum, the process is touted to reduce energy consumption and CO₂ emissions by about 80 percent. By using PET to create products, “132 5. ISSEY MIYAKE”  plans to join “Eco-Circle”.

Logo and store design

The logo and package designs are created by Art Director Katsumi Asaba. The flagship store, scheduled to open this autumn in Tokyo is designed by Tokujin Yoshioka. The launch will begin with a limited release at the ISSEY MIYAKE stores in New York, Paris, London, etc.

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