Throw away your
iron, toss those hangers in the trash and take a look at Issey Miyake' fall and winter
Pleats Please collection. Margaret Dickinson exposes you to the crinkled look.
Issey Miyake has once again taken innovation in fashion to a new level with "Pleats
Please," his ultra-popular line of clothing. Pleats Please lives up to its name by
offering a variety of clothes that give new meaning to the word "wrinkled."
A large array of materials are used for this line. The cheapest and most basic clothes in
Pleats Please are made of a very lightweight material and are meant for layering. For
JY9500 you can buy a shirt with minuscule crisscrossing pleats. These shirts have a basic
cut, some are mock turtleneck, and vary widely in colors and prints. The plaid is
interesting because of how it contrasts with the pleats.
One step up price-wise are the dresses, skirts, shirts, pants and scarves that are full of
tiny vertical pleats and have a simple cut to them. The look can be compared to ripples on
a sand dune as a storm passes through a desert. It's no wonder this design was inspired by
traditional Moroccan clothing. The colors range from bright orange to deep green. Most
pieces are solid in color while others are emblazoned in designs such as tie-dye, plaid,
or even pseudo-denim. You can get a pair of these pants for JY20,000, a shirt for JY18,000
and a dress for JY28,000. To complete the look with a purse or pouch, add JY7000. For
slip-on shoes with a sneaker-type bottom, add JY16,000.
With its flowing design, comfort seems to be the primary objective. Practicality follows
close behind, due to the versatility of the clothing. This line is especially sensible for
those who travel a lot. Instead of fretting over how to pack, just roll it up and toss it
in your suitcase. They are also good if you want to conserve space when packing. These
items shouldn't be ironed and some of them (such as the shirts first mentioned), shouldn't
be hung up.
In this line Issey Miyake grabs hold of the industrial trend of cargo pants, zipper vests,
and other clothes with loads of snaps, Velcro, and other closure methods, then takes it
the other way toward minimalism. Most of the clothing is pull-on or pull-over and requires
no buttons or snaps or other things of the sort. They let the body move and breathe freely
and promote motion through the active texture of the clothing. All those little folds give
the clothing an energy that is lacking in most other clothes. For more fun, check out his
felt purses. Most look like your traditional plaid handbag, yet they have an accordion
fold to them. When empty, the purses can be folded completely closed and snapped shut with
a strap. Most likely you'll always have stuff in your purse so you won't fold it up often,
but again it's convenient for travelling. The same goes for his circular purses that are
made of a canvas-type material. When empty they can be folded into themselves to make a
flat circle. He has still other purses in this line that can be compacted into
space-conscious sizes.
If you're into the really funky stuff, you won't be disappointed by Pleats Please. You can
find some articles with very extreme wrinkles. Some of these shirts have the same sort of
texture your T-shirt would take on after you left it in your gym locker for a semester
back in high school, except that rather than smelly cotton, they're made of a lightweight,
iridescent material. They come in different shiny colors with a glittery sheen over them,
which gives them a look of crumpled wrapping paper.
Still other pieces show a diversity of more wrinkles. There are shirts with the accordion
style pleats. There are pieces made of a heavier material that have medium-size square
pleats. There are also the clothes that have more than one style of pleat: the shirts with
both the crinkled look and the accordion fold.
So if you're the type that likes clothes with that just-ironed look, stay away from this
particular collection. But if you're looking for something that bends the rules of
two-dimensional clothing, check it out. Pleats Please is practical, yet fun.
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