Issey Miyake Chiffon Twist Top – Red

Twisted pleating spirals rather than falling straight, so light travels around the cloth as it descends instead of down it. On black that is a subtle thing. In red it is not: a saturated colour gives the eye something to follow, and the shifting between the lit and shadowed faces of each twist becomes the dominant feature of the garment. Semi-sheer chiffon-weight cloth means you read the twist through the fabric as well as across it, so there are two versions of the same spiral happening at once. The mock neck keeps the top of the garment clean and unfussy, which is the correct decision when the surface is doing this much.

The twist is a harder pleat to execute than a straight one, and red is the colour that lets you actually see it working.

Fine pleating is the technique most associated with Issey Miyake, and the twist is the studio complicating its own signature on purpose.

100% polyester, made in Japan, in red. Semi-sheer, with twisted pleating and a mock neck.

Pleated garments size unusually, since the cloth compresses considerably and opens as it is worn. Read it as generous. Semi-sheer, which is worth planning for.

A clear red is a statement on its own and should not have to compete. Black or ivory beneath and beside it. What you wear under a semi-sheer top is part of the garment, so choose it deliberately.

The pleats are heat-set into the polyester and are permanent, so it washes without losing them. Miyake's own instruction is to wash at 30°C or below in a laundry net on a short cycle, or press gently by hand, and never to tumble dry, iron, steam, or dry clean, since the pleats are not heat-resistant. Store it rolled along the direction of the pleats. Our fabric care guide covers polyester and technical cloth.

The Chiffon Twist Shirt in black and the Chiffon Twist in Pink Robin are the same twist in other colours. The Ole Jacket in Pleats Please is also built around a strong red. Everything we carry from Issey Miyake is listed together.