Issey Miyake in Pitti: Homme Plissé in Villa della Petraia

The key to any brand’s survival over generations is the strength of its DNA and few marques have more stylish genetics than Issey Miyake, which presented its Homme Plissé collection Wednesday night in Florence.

The great and much-loved Issey’s greatest signifier – his endless pleats – was the leitmotif of the whole show staged in the garden of a Medici villa in the hills above Florence. And when one is talking about longevity few brands had a longer history than the Medici family.
 
This season’s Guest of Honor in Pitti, fashion’s best organized trade show, Homme Plissé’s location was Villa Medicea della Petraia, a beautiful villa overlooking the capital of the Renaissance bathed in sunset light.

The fall 2025 clothes, in turn, were highly respectful of the brand’s DNA, with every single look containing one pleated element.  The heart of the matter was the quirky cutting and tailoring, where pleated shoulder holsters covered redingotes, or cardigans came with tunic/dresses.

 Miyake was a world leader in fabric recycling – famously opening a shop in Ginza two decades ago all of whose products were made of recycled bottles. A tradition respected with some very cool translucent nylon raincoats and jerkins. Made in a palette of Clongowes Wood purple, faded lime, sinful red, or priestly black – there were scores of very fashionable and wearable clothes. 

One of Japan’s greatest designers, Issey Miyake founded his eponymous house in 1970. He built an iconic body of work defined by technologically driven fabrics, artistic silhouettes, unique collaborations, and a long-term fascination with pleated textiles—hence the collection’s name.
 
Pre-show, waiters looking very swish in classic Homme Plissé pleated recycled polyester jackets served clever cocktails in mixes of gin, ouzo or Japanese tea.
 
Guy and girl models wandered around the narrow paths of the villa’s ornate garden and like a lot of fashion displays in gardens, the show never really took off. Nor did it rise to a crescendo, especially as no designer took a bow.  Still, Issey always dreamed of dressing a generation with a certain gentle elegance, and this collection continued that idea.

 
Inside the beautiful villa, guests had toured around a very slim elevated – pleats covered – circular table bearing a whole series of abstract painted illustrations.  

The show invitation actually came with a very slim Perspex Natura paintbrush. Beside the sketches were printed fabric swatches in the same designs. Many subsequently appearing in some gloriously vibrant colors – dense red and orange dawns; moody autumnal browns; or green and yellow abstractions. 
 
All these sketches presented underneath some magnificent frescos by the artist Volterrano, celebrating the glories of the Medici family. Their famed five six ball emblem prominently displayed. Which, in a sense, this show mimicked by celebrating the ever-powerful DNA of the late great Issey Miyake.