Issey Miyake: Pleats Please

Status: 1996
Location: Brook Street, London

Client: Issey Miyake International
Value: Confidential

 

The client required a new shop dedicated to the “Pleats Please” range of clothes and accessories. The clothes have strong colours and geometric shapes. The pleats are stored as rolls of fabric and display units were needed to show them to maximum effect.

The scheme is a response to the constraints of the site: a small georgian Building with a low ceiling and very narrow domestic proportioned space on two floors.

By creating an opening in the ground floor, the design introduces a sculptural vertical element that interlocks with the staircase opening, allowing natural light to filter down through the horizontal perspex planes that form part of the display unit. This new double height volume encourages the visitor to descend the stair to the lower display areas and allows a view back through the suspended structure that holds the clothes.

A back lit, etched glass wall, housing a large video screen, provides an animated focus and a softer, ambient light that compliments the stronger abstract lines of white light in the ceiling. At night it becomes a backdrop to the display and draws the eye through to the rear of the shop.

Special light fittings were designed to give a strong, even light with faithful colour rendering. The shop is a ‘light box’ - plain white walls, perspex and stainless steel are a backdrop for the drama of the clothes.

The display units were designed by Stanton Williams to emphasise the shape and colour of the clothes. Clear perspex sliding shelves allow them to be displayed either rolled or flat. There is a smaller freestanding unit on the lower floor.

 

Credits
Photography: Peter Cook