A-POC ABLE ISSEY MIYAKE Hits the U.S.

A continuation of its namesake designer’s boundary-breaking legacy in fashion, A-POC ABLE ISSEY MIYAKE endeavors to create a dialogue between those who make its products and those who wear them. Recently under new direction, the line is engaging with specialists from outside industries and rethinking traditional modalities, with its design team pushing the limits of what can be woven together when it comes to clothing.

A-POC ABLE, the first part of which is an abbreviation for ‘a piece of cloth,’ was first introduced in 1998 by the late Japanese designer, along with a specialized manufacturing system that produces a tube of fabric embedded with pattern pieces, allowing wearers to make a series of garments themselves without any wasted material.

Today, the experimental enterprise is helmed by Yoshiyuki Miyamae, a veteran of the brand who hopes to expand its innovative offerings while honoring the original ideals of its founder, who passed away in 2022.

A-POC ABLE consistently deviates from traditional methods of fashion production. Its designers don’t adhere to seasons and trends, opting instead to prioritize permanence and practicality. They take the necessary time—up to several years—to see their visions through and only announce their pieces’ completion when their standards have been met. They also collaborate with experts from other specialties, like artists, photographers, product designers, and academics, to provide new perspectives on their projects. “By working with experts from diverse fields and industries, we are also able to approach things from different perspectives and positions,” says Miyamae. “We believe that breaking free from existing concepts and ideas, and embracing a multifaceted perspective within our team leads to new innovations.”

The resulting clothing emulates its artistic and technical influences with rhythmic waves of pleats and structural shapes. Some showcase a “three-D stream stretch” technique, in which a special thread that contracts when steamed is patterned and treated to create multidimensionality. The designs also utilize unique materials like partially plant-derived polyester and Triporous, a material made from rice husks. By exploring different relationships between the natural and the industrial, Miyamae is shaping new design principles that can be applied to the brand’s pieces and beyond. “We feel that there are infinite possibilities in Issey Miyake's design and making, which starts with a single thread and a single piece of cloth,” he explains. “We believe that the A-POC approach can be applied and developed beyond clothing to architecture and other products.”

A-POC ABLE celebrated its relaunch last spring by introducing its new pieces to Issey Miyake stores in New York and London. The brand also collaborated with Japanese photographer Sohei Nishino to craft several limited edition pieces for the occasion. The Type-VI Sohei Nishino project incorporates prints from the photographer’s Diorama Map series, in which he traveled around various cities, photographed their different areas, and collaged the images together as maps. The brand took two of these works from New York and London and stitched them into a five-pocket pant and convertible collar coat, respectively. The project expertly combines Nishino’s evocative cityscapes with A-POC ABLE’s inventive tailoring and techniques.

As Miyamae steers the brand forward, he is guided by Miyake’s founding philosophy of “bringing unprecedented originality for ease in everyday life.” Though his team must work to balance many different, potentially conflicting concepts in their works, he does not see these methods as restraining, but rather a means of obtaining freedom from fashion’s confining conventions. “I learned from Mr. Miyake the ability to see society through making clothes. There is an immense joy in learning about things I do not know through clothesmaking,” he explains. “For me, inspiration comes from everything in daily life, from the beauty of the unseen natural world to the mysteries of the universe. I aspire to incorporate all forms of inspiration into my work.”

For more information, please visit us.isseymiyake.com/pages/apocable. Read this story and many more in print by ordering our eighth issue here.