Issey Miyake Homme Plissé Monthly Colors March Zip-Up Sleeveless Vest

A vest occupies a narrow and useful gap: it adds a layer across the torso without adding anything at the arm, which is exactly what is wanted in the part of the year when the air is cool and the sun is not. Building one from pleated cloth with a zip front makes it fold down to very little, and being easy to carry when you are not wearing it is genuinely the point. The pleating gives the front panels a vertical line, so the vest reads as a deliberate layer rather than as a utility item, and pockets keep it practical. March in the Monthly Colors calendar, which is the right month for a garment built for uncertain weather.

It solves a genuine problem, adds a considered vertical line while doing it, and takes up almost no room when it is not being worn.

Homme Plissé consistently applies Issey Miyake's pleating to garments chosen for usefulness rather than for drama, and the vest is a good example.

100% polyester, made in Japan, in black. Pleated, with a zip front, sleeveless, with pockets.

Sleeveless with a zip front, so it layers over a shirt or a knit without restricting the arm. Pleated cloth opens as it is worn.

Over a long-sleeved pleated top from the line it becomes a full look in one cloth. Over a shirt it is straightforwardly practical. Black and plain, it does not need managing.

The pleats are heat-set into the polyester and are permanent, so it washes without losing them. Wash at 30°C or below in a laundry net on a short cycle, or press gently by hand, and never tumble dry, iron, steam, or dry clean. Store rolled along the direction of the pleats. Our fabric care guide covers polyester and technical cloth.

The Monthly Color July Zip-Up Hoodie is the sleeved equivalent, and the Basics Jacket is the structured one. Everything we carry from Issey Miyake is listed together.