I still remember my first Issey Miyake piece—a Pleats Please top I splurged on after saving for months.
The way it moved like liquid yet held its architectural shape completely transformed how I thought about clothing.
Standing in my tiny apartment mirror, I realized fashion could be both art and innovation, not just something to wear.
That moment sparked my lifelong obsession with Japanese minimalism and avant-garde design that continues to this day.
When Miyake passed away in 2022, I found myself searching for other designers who capture that same magical blend of technology, art, and wearability.
Comme des Garçons: The Boundary-Breaking Pioneer
If you’re drawn to Issey Miyake’s unconventional silhouettes and conceptual approach, Comme des Garçons should be your next fashion obsession.
Founded by the legendary Rei Kawakubo in 1969, CdG shares Miyake’s Japanese heritage and revolutionary approach to design.
Where Miyake explored technology and pleating, Kawakubo deconstructs the very concept of clothing, challenging what garments can be.
Her infamous “lumps and bumps” collection of 1997 reimagined the female form completely, adding padding in unexpected places—a direct challenge to Western beauty ideals.
Like Miyake, Kawakubo treats fashion as intellectual discourse rather than mere adornment.
You’ll find the same attention to innovative textiles, though CdG often leans darker and more avant-garde than Miyake’s sometimes playful approach.
Their PLAY line, with the iconic heart logo, offers more accessible pieces while maintaining the brand’s distinctive point of view.
For the full experience, explore their Dover Street Market concept stores—multibrand retail spaces that feel more like art installations than shops.
What truly connects these brands is their refusal to follow trends, instead creating timeless pieces that transcend seasonal fashion cycles.
If you’re transitioning from Miyake to CdG, start with their BLACK or Comme des Garçons SHIRT lines, which offer more wearable interpretations of Kawakubo’s vision.
The price points are similar to Miyake, reflecting the exceptional craftsmanship and conceptual design work.
Whether you choose a structured jacket with unexpected proportions or one of their fragrances (which, like their clothing, defy convention), CdG offers that same sense of wearing something truly special that Miyake fans crave.
Yohji Yamamoto: The Master of Poetic Minimalism
If you appreciate Issey Miyake’s architectural shapes and commitment to black, Yohji Yamamoto’s creations will speak directly to your soul.
Another pioneering Japanese designer who emerged internationally in the 1980s, Yamamoto shares Miyake’s philosophy that clothing should be an extension of the body rather than constricting it.
His asymmetrical cuts, oversized proportions, and masterful draping create sculptural garments that move beautifully with the wearer.
While Miyake embraced technology and synthetic materials, Yamamoto often works with natural fabrics like wool, cotton, and linen, celebrating their inherent properties.
The commonality lies in their shared Japanese aesthetic principles—finding beauty in imperfection and embracing negative space.
Yamamoto’s signature black palette (though he does occasionally work with navy, white, and burgundy) comes from his belief that “black is modest and arrogant at the same time.”
His Y’s diffusion line offers more accessible price points while maintaining his distinctive aesthetic.
The Y-3 collaboration with Adidas brings his avant-garde sensibility to sportswear—perfect if you love Miyake’s functionality merged with high design.
Like Miyake, Yamamoto creates clothing meant to be worn for years, even decades, rather than discarded after a season.
His pieces often feature raw edges, visible stitching, and asymmetrical elements that create a sense of “perfect imperfection.”
The intellectual approach to fashion unites these designers—both see clothing as a philosophical statement rather than mere decoration.
If you’re transitioning from Miyake to Yamamoto, look for his flowing coats, architectural jackets, and masterfully cut trousers that create similar dramatic silhouettes.
Junya Watanabe: The Textile Innovator
If Miyake’s textile innovations captivate you, Junya Watanabe’s experimental approach to materials will feel like a natural progression in your fashion journey.
Originally a protégé of Rei Kawakubo at Comme des Garçons, Watanabe established his eponymous line in 1992 and quickly became known for his technological approach to fashion design.
Where Miyake pioneered pleating techniques, Watanabe explores origami-inspired folding, honeycomb structures, and geometric patterns that transform everyday garments into wearable sculpture.
His masterful manipulation of fabrics creates garments that can expand, contract, and transform—reminiscent of Miyake’s adaptable designs.
Both designers share a deep respect for traditional craftsmanship while pushing relentlessly into the future of fashion.
Watanabe’s collections often center around a single concept or technique, explored thoroughly with mathematical precision.
His collaborations with heritage brands like Levi’s, The North Face, and Carhartt demonstrate his ability to reinterpret utilitarian classics through his avant-garde lens.
You’ll find that same balance of wearability and innovation that makes Miyake so beloved—these are statement pieces that still function in real life.
Technical fabrics feature prominently in both designers’ work, though Watanabe often incorporates unexpected materials like polyurethane, metallic elements, or reflective surfaces.
His pattern-cutting skills create complex three-dimensional structures that seem impossible until you see them move on the body.
If you’re drawn to Miyake’s Bao Bao bags with their geometric transformability, Watanabe’s structural accessories offer similar architectural appeal.
The intellectual rigor behind each collection mirrors Miyake’s systematic approach to design problems.
Sacai: The Master of Hybrid Fashion
If you love how Issey Miyake combines seemingly contradictory elements into harmonious designs, Sacai’s hybrid approach to fashion will captivate your imagination.
Founded by Chitose Abe in 1999 after working with both Junya Watanabe and Comme des Garçons, Sacai specializes in creating “hybrid garments” that fuse different clothing archetypes.
Where Miyake might blend Eastern and Western influences, Abe combines disparate elements like a motorcycle jacket with a pleated dress, or a classic trench coat with technical sportswear.
This “splice and dice” approach creates pieces that reveal new dimensions as you move around them—front views often differ dramatically from back views.
Both designers share a dedication to pushing boundaries while creating genuinely wearable clothing.
Abe’s technical mastery allows her to deconstruct familiar garments and reassemble them in unexpected ways that still function beautifully.
The attention to detail and exceptional craftsmanship in Sacai pieces echoes Miyake’s perfectionist approach.
You’ll notice both brands strike that difficult balance between conceptual design and practical wearability that makes them investment pieces rather than fleeting fashion.
Sacai’s collaborations with Nike, The North Face, and other mainstream brands (much like Miyake’s more accessible PLEATS PLEASE line) bring avant-garde design principles to wider audiences.
The layering techniques Abe employs create visual depth similar to Miyake’s textural experiments, though achieved through different methods.
If you’re transitioning from Miyake to Sacai, look for their hybrid outerwear and innovative knitwear that offers similarly sophisticated approaches to texture and form.
Both designers create clothing that becomes more interesting the longer you live with it, revealing subtle details and thoughtful construction over time.
Iris van Herpen: The Couture Futurist
If Issey Miyake’s technological innovations fascinate you, Iris van Herpen’s otherworldly creations will take your appreciation for fashion-as-science to entirely new dimensions.
The Dutch designer has revolutionized haute couture by incorporating 3D printing, laser cutting, and magnetic field manipulation into her creation process.
Where Miyake pioneered heat-set pleating and innovative textiles, van Herpen collaborates with scientists, architects, and programmers to develop entirely new ways of constructing garments.
Her runway pieces often appear to defy gravity, with structures that seem impossible until you witness them in motion.
Both designers share a profound interest in how clothing interacts with space, movement, and the human form.
Van Herpen’s collections frequently explore natural phenomena like sound waves, crystal formations, or underwater organisms—transforming these inspirations into wearable art.
Her training in classical dance (similar to Miyake’s background in graphic design) informs her understanding of how fabric moves with the body.
You’ll recognize the same commitment to pushing fashion beyond conventional boundaries that made Miyake such a revolutionary force.
While her runway pieces are highly conceptual, van Herpen has created more accessible collaborations, including a collection with Evian water that echoes Miyake’s democratic approach to design.
The meticulous craftsmanship—where high technology meets traditional handwork—mirrors Miyake’s dedication to both innovation and execution.
If you’re drawn to Miyake’s most architectural pieces, van Herpen offers that same sculptural quality taken to even more dramatic extremes.
Both designers create garments that transcend fashion to become cultural artifacts, collected by museums alongside traditional artwork.
Tomo Koizumi: The New Wave Volume Master
If you love Issey Miyake’s sculptural qualities and joyful use of color, Tomo Koizumi’s exuberantly voluminous creations will send your fashion heart soaring.
Though relatively new to the international fashion scene (his 2019 New York Fashion Week debut was arranged by stylist Katie Grand and designer Marc Jacobs), Koizumi has quickly established himself as an important voice in avant-garde design.
Where Miyake creates volume through pleating, Koizumi builds extraordinary silhouettes using layers upon layers of Japanese polyester organza ruffles in candy-colored gradients.
His dress-as-sculpture approach echoes Miyake’s understanding of clothing as three-dimensional forms that create new relationships with space.
Both designers transform synthetic materials into something unexpectedly beautiful, challenging our assumptions about “luxury” fabrics.
Koizumi’s background in costume design (he dressed Japanese celebrities before entering high fashion) informs his theatrical approach to clothing.
You’ll find the same joyful experimentation with form that makes Miyake’s work so distinctive, though Koizumi’s aesthetic leans more maximalist.
The technical skill required to create these seemingly gravity-defying volumes mirrors Miyake’s mastery of precise fabric manipulation.
While Koizumi’s runway pieces are more theatrical than everyday wear, his collaborations with brands like Emilio Pucci bring his distinctive ruffling techniques to more wearable garments.
The meticulous craftsmanship behind each piece—some containing over 200 meters of fabric—reflects the same dedication to execution found in Miyake’s atelier.
If you’re drawn to Miyake’s most experimental runway pieces, Koizumi offers that same sense of clothing as joyful artistic expression.
Both designers create fashion that elicits emotional responses rather than merely serving functional needs.