Structured Silk at Issey Miyake Autumn/Winter 2015-16

Under the artistic direction of Yusuke Takahashi, the 2015-16 collection is structured, airy, and yet still powerful. The use of bold colors such as red, blue and purple, and heavy knits coupled with silk, give men a dramatic look for the autumn and winter season, while still being accessible and practical.

The runway show opens with three variations on a stand-collared aubergine jacket. It is first paired with complimentary cigarette pants, then black high waters, and finally with black harem pants. The pieces after have a strong sense of utility - a smoke gray coat with purple and bronze color blocking, a knit tweed sweater with a thick muffler-like turtleneck, and a longline tweed poncho with a cincher belt. The cited inspiration by Scottish architect Charles Rennie Mackintosh is evident in the tartan print used in both tweed pieces.

Flowing, silk neck scarves were also used in combination with printed shirts, which looks to be a fresh alternative to the quintessential necktie. However, a favorite piece from the show was a red duster coat with jacquard print, a black leather collar, and matching velvet devoré trousers.

In an interview with Paris Modes Production, Takahashi said, “Elegant suits are in this collection…I tried to make a more sharp and architectural style, so I was inspired by Charles Rennie Mackintosh [sic]… his work is very interesting because he uses a lot of geometrical shapes…he looks very elegant….I used Japanese silk that I took from the cocoon. And we used silk in a jacquard jacket, on tweed jacket and knitted jacket.”