Thomas Traum Unfolds the Magic of Homme Plissé Issey Miyake

First introduced with his Pleats Please line in 1993, Issey Miyake’s pleated polyester jersey does not wrinkle, shrink, or constrict. It is light enough to be seasonless. It can be folded, washed, crushed, or worn, and its cascades of heat-treated micro-pleats will return to their original form. In basic cuts that are neither formal nor informal, Homme Plissé Issey Miyake’s garments function in any situation. They are the kind of elegant design solution that appealed to Miyake devotee Steve Jobs, who famously stocked his wardrobe with hundreds of identical black turtlenecks supplied by the designer. It is a fact that begs the question: Is Issey Miyake the secret inventor of techwear?

In a CGI film commissioned by SSENSE, digital art studio Thomas Traum reveals the technological splendor of plissé. Floating in a surreal vacuum, the film’s zoomed-in renderings show how a precisely engineered textile enables near-infinite movement.