The passing of Issey Miyake earlier this month has been felt throughout the fashion world, remembered as a visionary fashion designer and trailblazer for Japanese designers on the world stage. While he might be most famously remembered for making the black turtleneck sweaters Steve Jobs wore every day, an unlikely bomber jacket Issey Miyake created more than two decades ago is on the cusp of cult status among fashion insiders.
The jacket in question formed a part of Miyake’s autumn/winter 1996 collection and was thoroughly ahead of its time, featuring an aggressively utilitarian look thanks to the numerous modular pockets found throughout the jacket. In the present gorpcore-enthused moment where technical outerwear has become ubiquitous thanks to the likes of Arc’teryx and Patagonia, Miyake’s Parachute Cargo MA-1 Bomber jacket neatly slots into vogue, but before the turn of the millennium, it was a truly inspired design.
While the jacket made its debut on the ’96 runway in Paris, it was the following year on a red carpet that the jacket first hit the mainstream collective consciousness on the shoulders of the one and only Robin Williams. The actor was attending the premiere of the sci-fic comedy Flubber, and decided to wear the technical garment to protect against the chilly temperature, in so doing cementing himself as an unlikely style icon and elevating Miyake to those in the know.
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The garment is based on a classic military-style MA-1 jacket but has been carefully tweaked by Miyake with a boxier cut and a number of pockets on the chest and sleeves, as well as an oversized pocket on the back of the jacket. While the Japanese designer was best known for his fondness of pleated fabrics, signature sewing techniques and his varied colour palette, this jacket is particularly special as it demonstrates the awe-inspiring breadth of Miyake’s career in fashion, encompassing countless incongruities from collection to collection.
Fortunately, Miyake’s Parachute Cargo MA-1 Bomber jacket has been recognised by several tastemakers for its forward-thinking look, not only spotted on the shoulders of Robin Williams, but it was also worn by Playboi Carti in his Magnolia music video and by Kendall Jenner to the birthday party of Zane Hijazi. The L’eau d’Issey perfume might yet form the foundation of the Issey Miyake legacy moving forward, but for those with slightly more developed taste than your average punter on the street, there’ll always be his bomber jacket.
