Issey Miyake 132 5. Solid Jacket

A jacket is the hardest test of the 132 5. idea, because a jacket is the garment most defined by its construction. Conventionally it needs a shoulder, a sleevehead, a canvas, and a set of seams that do the shaping, and every one of those is a thing that must be cut and joined. This one has none. It begins as a flat folded polygon and opens into a jacket, and the loose fit and three-quarter sleeve are consequences of the folding geometry rather than decisions imposed on top of it. The result stands away from the body in a way a soft unstructured jacket cannot, because the fold structure itself is rigid enough to hold volume. It is the most convincing demonstration in the series that the mathematics is not decorative: a garment that behaves like outerwear, with no outerwear construction anywhere in it.

Outerwear that gets its structure from folding rather than from tailoring is close to unique, and this is the piece in the series where the idea has to work hardest to succeed.

132 5. is the output of Reality Lab, Issey Miyake's research studio, and it represents the house's long interest in a single piece of cloth taken to its most systematic conclusion.

100% polyester, made in Japan, in black. Loose fit with three-quarter sleeves. The garment folds flat into a geometric form.

Loose, and holding its own volume rather than following the body. The three-quarter sleeve is fixed by the geometry, so the wrist is part of the design rather than a length choice. It sits over other things easily because it stands off them.

The three-quarter sleeve makes what is underneath visible at the forearm, which is worth using rather than working around: a long fitted sleeve beneath reads as deliberate. Otherwise keep everything near it plain.

Wash cool and keep heat well away. The folds are the structure of the garment. Refold it along its own lines to store rather than hanging it. Our fabric care guide covers polyester and technical cloth.

The 132 5. Solid Top is the sleeveless piece from the same series, and the Enclothe Cardigan is another garment whose shape is held by its material. Everything we carry from Issey Miyake is listed together.