Diving Into Houston Community College’s Historic Fashion Archive — Japanese Designer Issey Miyake’s Futuristic Looks

Editor’s note: In this new series, Houston Community College’s fashion program team experts explore the HCC fashion archive, one of the biggest fashion archives in the country and the second-largest archive in Texas. With more than 12,000 items in the archive, Houston Community College is one of the only schools in Texas that offers a fashion design and fashion merchandising program. From current top designers to everyday clothing made in the 1800s, the HCC fashion archive exemplifies the Bayou City’s eclectic culture and illuminates the historical importance of each piece.

In this first story, we speak to HCC fashion program professor and fashion connoisseur Alex Chapman. Exploring the Japanese designer Issey Miyake, Chapman discusses the archive’s unique Miyake pieces.

Alex Chapman: I adore fashion. That is why I am involved with the Fashion Archive here at Houston Community College. It is the perfect resource for our students and any fashionista. The archive spans four centuries with over 12,000 items divided into four collections: the Historical, the Traditional Dress, Alumni, and the Textile and Fiber collections.

When asked which archive piece is my favorite, I asked myself what my criteria would be. Could this piece come from my favorite decade(s)? That is easy, the 1980s and the 1990s. Could it be my favorite color? Again, that is easy — black. But lately bold statement colors are giving me life. Ask anyone who really knows me, and they would say I would choose a piece from my favorite designer Issey Miyake.

Miyake is an avant-garde and futurist designer known for incorporating technology and concepts into his designs. Although he uses many natural materials, his experimental use of synthetic materials is technologically revolutionary.

The pleated raspberry and ube-colored ensemble comes from his “Pleats Please” range. It consists of a turtleneck, cardigan and scarf. What fascinates me is how they are fabricated.

Traditionally, most designers will cut and sew existing pleated material. Miyake reverses the process by sewing the entire design, creatively folding it and then pleating it. The product is minimal but, at the same time, very futuristic. It’s hand washable, dries extremely quickly and never needs to be ironed. His creative approach is as intellectual as it is artisanal.

Miyake’s pieces are playful, and he often said, “Have fun with the clothes, layer them, wear them upside down, even backward.” The pleated pieces from his various lines can be worn in such a way and with endless combinations. Thanks to a unique industrial process he invented, he transforms textiles today in the most innovative and unparalleled way.

The Houston Community College Fashion Program is set to host its 2024 Spring Fashion Show “Chromatique” this Friday, May 3.  For more information go here. The HCC Fashion Department will also be competing at Comicpalooza’s Comic Couture from Friday, May 24, through Sunday, May 26, at George R. Brown Convention Center. For more information on that, go here.