Issey Miyake Fette Pink Black Pleated Origami Dress

Although generally considered an avant-garde designer, Issey Miyake’s work boasts elements of practical engineering and exceptional artistic aesthetic. Patenting his own unique ‘pleats please’ pleating technique in 1993, Miyake designs using pleats for comfort, volume, and a certain rhythmic quality to his garments.

Of this technique, the Victoria and Albert Museum states that Miyake’s garments “are very functional and practical; the garments store easily, travel well, require no ironing and can be machine-washed and dried within minutes.”

This cherry-blossom pink dress features Miyake’s signature micro-pleating technique. The dress is rathe straight in silhouette and falls to a handkerchief hem at about calf level. Volume is added with the large, black balloon sleeves that are also pleated. They have a button detailing that allow the sleeves to be transformed into a capelet. The impeccable design and functionality of the pleating technique speak to Miyake’s deft skill easily paralleling the work Mariano Fortuny in the 1910s.

Size: 3

Size estimate: Small/Medium

Bust: 30 - 36 inches

Waist: 25- 30 inches

Hips: 33-37 inches

Length: 47 inches

The pleating allows for an immense amount of expansion throughout the dress adding to its comfort. It also comes with a pink slip to be worn underneath. In excellent condition, this dress had been professionally cleaned and pressed. High-quality vintage pieces like this are yours to live in and love while increasing in value every year. It’s never too soon to start collecting them, as an investment in your wardrobe—and in yourself.