A collection of 23 images by Snowdon contained in four 'Issey Miyake Permanente' portfolios.

Antony Charles Robert Armstrong-Jones, 1st Earl of Snowdon 'SNOWDON' (1930-2017, photographer). - Issey MIYAKE (b.1938, designer).

A collection of 23 images by Snowdon contained in four 'Issey Miyake Permanente' portfolios.

Tokyo: Issey Miyake International, 1987, 1987, 1988, 1989. 4 volumes for '... 1987 Spring-Summer Collection', '1987/88 Autumn/Winter Collection', '1988 Spring-Summer Collection', '1989 Spring-Summer Collection'.

23 plates (11 coloured) from photographs by Snowdon (overall sheet size: 20 x 14 inches; 508 x 356mm). Each accompanied by biographical text on the subjects (in English and Japanese, and in the latest portfolio in English, French and Japanese) printed on single sides only of two or three leaves.

Condition of contents: images with ocasional small creases to corners [see images], but generally excellent, text with light overall toning, occasional small creases.

All unbound as issued within original cardboard portfolios, with printed titling, explanatory sub-titles, copyright and some production details.

Condition of portfolios: small gouge to one vol., occasional light corner bumps, otherwise very good condidering.

"To me, those Miyake clothes are as relevant now as they were a quarter of a century ago." (Suzy Menkes).

I have not been able to confirm how many plates there should be in each portfolio. The good news is that every plate is accompanied by the related biographical text, there are no 'orphan' text pages describing a person whose image is lacking, but, to be fair, I am offering these as a collection plates with no guarantee that the contents of any of the portfolios are complete.

“Snowdon’s arresting images showed a variety of people, all famous in their own fields, wearing clothes that did not fix them in date or place, nor pervert the body. ... this was an extraordinary group of artistic individuals whom [Issey] Miyake dressed and Snowdon photographed to bring out the depth of each personality. The garments framed the face, shown without artifice or vanity, at the still depth of each personality.” (Suzy Menkes).

Issey Miyake wrote that Snowden's “perceptive eyes capture beautifully and deeply the essence of the clothes along with the nature and humour of the sitters”.

Issey Miyake "was born on April 22, 1938 in Hiroshima, Japan. He studied graphic design at the Tama Art University in Tokyo, graduating in 1964. After graduation, he worked in Paris and New York City. Returning to Tokyo in 1970, he founded the Miyake Design Studio, a high-end producer of women's fashion.

In the late 1980s, he began to experiment with new methods of pleating that would allow both flexibility of movement for the wearer as well as ease of care and production. In which the garments are cut and sewn first, then sandwiched between layers of paper and fed into a heat press, where they are pleated. The fabric's 'memory' holds the pleats and when the garments are liberated from their paper cocoon, they are ready-to wear.......

In March 1992 he was quoted in the International Hera;d Tribune as saying 'Design is not for philosophy—it's for life.'

In 1994 and 1999, Miyake turned over the design of the men's and women's collections respectively, to his associate, Naoki Takizawa, so that he could return to research full-time. In 2007, Naoki Takizawa opened his own brand supported by the Issey Miyake Group and was replaced as Creative Director by Dai Fujiwara who ran the House of Issey Miyake until 2012. The design duties were split as of the Spring/Summer 2012 collections, with Yoshiyuki Miyamae appointed head designer of the women's collection and Yusuke Takahashi designing the men's line.

As of 2012, he is one of the co-Directors of 21 21 DESIGN SIGHT, Japan's first design museum. From March 2016 the largest retrospective of his work was organized at The National Art Center, Tokyo, celebrating 45 years of career" (wikipedia)