Issey Miyake Monthly Colors December

Monthly Colors is a long-running series in which a colour is assigned to a month and worked through the line, and December is black. Applying that to a hoodie is a more interesting decision than it sounds. A hoodie is the most familiar garment in circulation, entirely defined by its softness and its slouch, and pleating it replaces both with structure. The kangaroo pocket and the hood stay exactly where they always are, so nothing about the garment's grammar changes; what changes is that it now holds a vertical line and stands slightly away from the body. The result is recognisably a hoodie and recognisably not one, which is a better joke than most garments manage and an easier thing to wear than the description implies.

Taking the most casual garment in existence and giving it a structure it has never had is exactly the sort of thing worth carrying, and it is genuinely easy to wear.

Pleating a hooded sweatshirt is Issey Miyake's method applied where it is least expected, which is much of the point of the line it belongs to.

100% polyester, made in Japan, in black. Pleated, with a front kangaroo pocket and a hood.

Pleated cloth opens out in wearing and holds more material than the flat garment suggests, so it is roomier in motion than at rest. It stands away from the body more than a jersey hoodie does, which is the whole difference.

It reads as a considered garment rather than a casual one, so it can go with things a hoodie usually cannot. Against a pleated trouser it becomes a full pleated look, which is a defensible thing to do here and almost nowhere else.

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 Monthly Colors March Straight-Leg Pants are from the same series. The Monthly Color July Zip-Up Hoodie sits with it in Homme Plissé, where this garment belongs. Everything we carry from Issey Miyake is listed together.