Issey Miyake’s Innovative Spirit Lives On With A-POC Able

It might sound obvious that fashion design starts with a piece of cloth, but for the late Issey Miyake cloth was more than the genesis of a garment, it was an ethos. In 1998, Miyake introduced his groundbreaking concept line, A-POC (A Piece of Cloth), as a way to bridge the relationship between the garment and the wearer.

Streamlining the complexities of conventional design methods, Miyake masterminded a unique manufacturing system that utilises computer programming to create rolls of fabric fused with finished patterns. The result? A single piece of cloth that would be cut into specified garments, optimised to reduce textile waste.

Today, the label lives on with A-POC Able, headed by Yoshiyuki Miyamae who has been developing the line beyond what was thought possible when Miyake introduced the concept over two decades ago. Split into Project Types and Product Types, the latter includes Type-O, Type-P, and Type-A which will be introduced to the London market for the first time this week. As the foundation of A-POC Able, Type-A builds off Miyake’s initial manufacturing techniques by optimising a single piece of tubular cloth to construct a weightless, knitted jacket and trousers.

‘We want to expand the possibilities of this concept,’ Miyamae tells me over Zoom. A veteran of the Miyake Design Studio, Miyamae is well versed in the A-POC philosophy having joined the company in 2001 working with the original team. Adding the ‘Able’ in 2021 along with innovative new products like Type-O and Type-P – which utilise high-temperatures to transform recycled polyester threads into geometric, patchwork pleats, and layered patterns respectively – for Miyamae it’s the relationship between garment and wearer that’s at the core of the next chapter of A-POC.

‘All these projects have been exciting to me but being able to utilise our technology and way of thinking through new perspectives from other people has really helped evolve the brand as a whole,’ he says. By working with creatives across industries, including art, architecture and photography, Miyamae’s dynamic and collaborative approach has gone beyond working with creative and technological pioneers like Tadanori Yokoo, Nature Architects Inc. and Tatsuo Miyajima, it’s helped him and his team better understand how to create a wardrobe that puts the wearer’s needs at the forefront.

‘I believe that it all comes back to interaction between people,’ Miyamae tells me. ‘Being able to do that with the brand is very important to me. Throughout the process, we have dialogue with collaborators. This interaction leads to a hands-on approach to trying different things, and different methods. Try to explore every avenue and every possibility’.

For the brand’s UK launch, they’ve tapped famed Japanese photographer Sohei Nishino as A-POC Able’s latest collaborator. Dubbed Type-VI Sohei Nishino project, the limited edition collection riffs on the artist’s Diorama Map series, specifically his two works ‘London, 2010’ and ‘New York, 2006’, which were created from walking around the respective cities. The works comprise of photographs of various subjects around the city, collaged onto canvas to create a map woven with emotion.

‘There’s a lot of parallel to his way of work’, Miyamae explains. More than just a visual spectacle, Nishino’s Diorama Map series is a reflection of his own experiences and perceptions of the places he visits. Like the A-POC philosophy, Nishino optimises building blocks into something greater than its parts. ‘That’s what resonated with us. We could’ve just printed his work on cloth,’ Miyamae says. Of course, that would have betrayed the very concept of A-POC.

Rather, the team worked to reconstruct the artists’ maps using their signature jacquard weaving technique. The result was two garments including a convertible collar coat with his London work and a five-pocket trousers with New York woven into them. Fostering the interaction between the wearer and the garments, the design team worked closely with Nishino which resulted in design details putting practicality at the forefront. ‘The shell we used was a paper thread, so it’s much lighter than it seems,’ reveals Miyamae.

As the legacy of the A-POC philosophy continues to resonate and evolve, expanding into London is about more than tapping into the European market. ‘It’s an opportunity, a starting point to show our process of creation before the end product. The story behind the clothing they have in their hand,’ he explains. What began as a revolutionary concept in fashion design has blossomed into a multifaceted exploration of creativity, technology and collaboration. Wherein every new project continues to push the boundaries of Miyake’s core principles of minimising waste, maximising functionality, and fostering a deeper connection between garment and wearer.

It’s impossible not to ask the Issey Miyake veteran about how he envisions A-POC Able’s evolution. ‘When you encounter something you’ve never seen or experienced before that's always exciting,’ he says. ‘But we aren’t doing new things just because it’s new. We are embracing the philosophy of Issey Miyake and passing it on to the next generation. We want to provide clothing that embodies new feelings, as well as functionality… At the end of the day, we want to enrich people through clothing.’

A-POC Able will be available in the UK for the first time on 26 April at Issey Miyake, 10 Brook St. London.