Issey Miyake Pleats Please Basics Cardigan

Length is what makes this more than a cardigan. Falling to the knee with an open front and no fastening, it hangs as two long vertical panels either side of the body, and because the cloth is pleated those panels have their own internal line running the full drop. The effect is closer to a light coat than to a knit: it frames whatever is underneath in two columns and lengthens the whole silhouette. Draped rather than structured means it follows the body’s movement instead of holding a shape away from it, so all that length stays fluid. Grey keeps it neutral enough to go over the rest of the line without competing.

Why we selected it

A knee-length open cardigan in pleated cloth does something no knit can, and it is the layer that makes the simpler pieces in the line look considered.

Pleats Please is built as a wardrobe rather than a set of separates, and this is the piece designed to go over the others.

Materials and construction

100% polyester, made in Japan, in grey. Long sleeves, open front, draped fit falling at the knee.

Fit notes

Falls at the knee with an open front and nothing to fasten, so the fit is forgiving. Draped rather than structured, so it moves with the body. Pleated cloth opens in wearing.

Styling

Over the Basics tops it becomes a matched outfit in one cloth. Over something narrow and dark the two vertical panels do the most work. It is long enough to be the outer layer indoors.

Care

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 it rolled along the direction of the pleats. Our fabric care guide covers polyester and technical cloth.

Related pieces

The Basics Longsleeve Top and the Basics Sleeveless Top are what it was made to go over, and the Smooth Coat is the heavier outer layer. There is more on the house on the Issey Miyake designer page. Everything we carry from Issey Miyake is listed together.