A parade choreographed in tribute to Issey Miyake

(Paris) The Japanese house Issey Miyake paid tribute Friday in Paris to its founder who died in August with a choreographed parade, of which he was the pioneer.

A black and white portrait of Issey Miyake, who died in Japan at the age of 84, was projected on the walls and the parade began solemnly with sober outfits, also in black and white.

But the dancers, in aerial flesh-colored outfits, joined the models towards the end for a dreamlike dancing performance, a trademark of the Japanese house.

It was in the 1990s that dancers from William Forsythe joined models from Miyake in a fashion show, something unprecedented at the time, but more and more frequent today as at the last Dior show this week.

Issey Miyake’s vision of clothes you can move in led him to meet the American choreographer, for whom he created the costumes for his ballet The Loss of Small Detailin 1991.

He had also made costumes for choreographers Trisha Brown and Daniel Ezralow and house shows are often accompanied by dancing or acrobatic performances.

The collection presented on Friday is inspired by sculpture, integrating elements and textures specific to this art. There are three-dimensional silhouettes made with a single piece of fabric or prints created from clay shapes applied by hand to the fabric to provide relief and texture.

Curves are omnipresent, but this season there are angular volumes as if to create protections around the body.

The dance is also jerky, contrasting with the fluid and joyful movements of the previous parades.

The vibrant palette — green, mauve, blue — refreshes gray and beige looks.

The house introduces for this collection the innovative fiber, “vegetable” polyester which does not use petroleum in its source.