Discuss the influence of Issey Miyake's Japanese heritage on his designs. 1971 Miyake's intentions to discover the traditional beauty of a disappearing Japan; emphasize the importance of clothing produced industrially using synthetic materials; to demonstrate the secret beauty of Japanese women. I strive to create clothing that places primary importance on body movement. Rather than fashion that we put on, I want to produce fashion that we take off... because that is where the beauty of the primitive spirit of man is found. (Tokyo Vogue p44) Although Miyake had a traditional Western education, he wanted to find his own way of creating fashion, explaining that “the Western clothing tradition seemed too rigid to me. I wanted to create things that could be free, both mentally and physically” (Marie-André Jouve, 1997, p.11). He returned to Japan, after training with French courtiers and American designer Geoffrey Beene, to rediscover the aesthetics and rich artisanal culture of his native country. His design practice challenged the Western system by referencing his Japanese heritage. He always maintained that he did not want to suggest Japanese culture with his clothing but “to be between cultures” (O'Brien, 1993, p.23 cited in Kawamura, 2004, p.96). Miyake's early designs were made from sashiko quilted fabric (a form of decorative backing stitching), in styles originally worn by peasants and sumo wrestlers. It does, however, cut the fabric more generously and adapts it to modern use. His designs were very loose and constructed like clay sculpture, not based on the human figure. Miyake wanted the...... middle of paper ...... black in color. For the Japanese, the color black is not dull but rather a sign of restraint and dignity. Black is associated with self-discipline, samurai wore darker kimonos with expensive decorated linings that were private and subtle, unlike the Western preference for facial glamour. This preference for subtlety is evident in Buddhism where simplicity, poverty and acceptance of imperfection are valued. A daily task, the Japanese tea ceremony, has become an artistic ritual representative of the importance of simplicity. His clothes favor asymmetry, folds and folds, visible seams, found objects and accidents. Another mark of Japanese fashion is its conceptual approach and its questioning of Western fashion. One of the ways Miyake achieved this was by using older non-professional models, aged 62 to 92.