ISSEY MIYAKE c. 1985 Vintage Documented Striped "Two-in-One" Dress Size S

This rare Issey Miyake dress from c. 1985 is made of a striped soft cotton jersey in cream white and charcoal and features a very interesting construction with an almost rectangular tent cut and an integrated yet separate fitted stretch mini skirt. The construction becomes obvious in all of the pictures. The reference pictures in particular show how this dress is actually "two-in-one". Slips on to wear. 100% cotton, unlined. Made in Japan.

An outstanding Miyake design, simple but striking all the more. The dress is easy to pull off, very wearable, most comfortable and utterly impactful at the same time. Highly collectible. Held in the archives of the Metropolitan Museum New York (according to their website the dress is from 1985).

Available reference pictures by Irving Penn and by Jim Varriale for Vogue Paris, February 1986.

An interesting side note on Issey Miyake's long-term collaboration with the photographer comes from Tamsin Blanchard for The Guardian: "But perhaps his most famous collaboration was with American photographer Irving Penn. For 14 years from 1986, Miyake’s attaché de presse Midori Kitamura was dispatched to New York to spend four days each season to work with Penn. She would spend a day showing Penn the clothes she had brought from Tokyo – trunks of them – and then he would get a model to try them on and strike abstract poses which would require Kitamura to pile on more clothes, and create volumes where there weren’t any by wrapping another layer or tying a dress around the model’s head." Kin Woo writes for Dazed Magazine: "Despite the fact Miyake never attended the photo sessions by Penn (nor did Penn ever go to any of Miyake’s shows) – there is an incredible visual conversation that arose between the two artists due to the complete artistic freedom afforded to Penn", and cites the designer: "I was looking for one person who could look at my clothing, hear my voice and answer me back through his own creation. Through his eyes, Penn-san reinterprets the clothes, gives them new breath, and presents them to me from a new vantage point. Penn shows me what I do."

CONDITION
Excellent

SIZE
Tagged size M - will best fit a DE 36, FR 38, IT 42, US 6, UK 10, SMALL

MEASUREMENTS (laid flat)
Bust 90,0 cm/35.4"
Total width 105,0 cm/41.3"
Skirt 37,5 cm/14.8" (unstretched - will stretch flexibly and adjust to your body)
Total length 105,0 cm/41.3"