Japanese fashion maverick Issei Miyake has passed away at the age of 84

Tokyo – Issei Miyake, who built one of Japan’s biggest fashion brands and was known for boldly tailored pieces as well as former Apple CEO Steve Jobs’ black turtlenecks, has died. He was 84.

Miyake died of liver cancer on August 5, the Miyake Design Office said on Tuesday.

Miyake rose to stardom among designers and artists in the 1970s, an era in Japan’s modern history, gaining international fame for articulating a vision of Japan distinct from that of the West.

Miyake’s origami-like pleats often turn polyester into chic. He also used computer technology in weaving to create clothes. The clothes that came down to earth were meant to honor the human body regardless of race, build, size or age.

Miyake loathed even being called a fashion designer, refusing to identify with what he saw as frivolous, trend-obsessed, conspicuous consumption.

Again and again, Miyake returned to the basic concept of starting with a single piece of fabric – taped, folded, cut or rolled.

Over the years he has taken inspiration from different cultures and social styles as well as everyday objects – plastic, rattan, washi paper, jute, horsehair, foil, thread, batik, indigo dyes and wires.

Sometimes he takes portraits of Jimi Hendrix and Janis Joplin, or collaborates with the Japanese artist Tadanori Yoku on monkey figures and foliage in strong, psychedelic colors.

He has also collaborated with furniture and interior designer Shiro Kuramata, photographer Irving Penn, choreographer and director Maurice Bejart, potter Lucy Rhee and Ballet Frankfurt.

In the year In 1992, Miyake was commissioned to design the official Olympic uniform for Lithuania, which had just gained independence from the Soviet Union.

Born in Hiroshima in 1938, Miyake was a star who hit the runways of Europe. The brown top, which combines the Japanese embroidered fabric “sashiko” with a raw silk knit, was splashed on the September 1973 cover of Elle magazine.

Miyake was a pioneer in gender roles, when in the 1970s the feminist Fusai Ichikawa – when she was in her 80s – asked her to be his model, sending a message that clothes should be comfortable and express the natural beauty of real people.

Although he wears clothes that are more than his daily activities, he seems to reach for something spiritual, he should never be pretentious by always approving the look of T-shirts and jeans.

Miyake once wrote in his book, “Design is like a living organism that pursues the things necessary for its safety and continuity.”

His office confirmed that a private funeral has already taken place and that no other arrangements will be made in accordance with Mike’s wishes. Miyake kept his family’s life private, and survivors are unknown.