A study of Miyake, Kawakubo and Yamamoto : identifying their success factors as revolutionary and innovative designers since the 1980s.

M.Tech. (Fashion)This study is an investigation of Japanese designers, Issey Miyake, Yohji Yamamoto and Rei Kawakubo, who are widely regarded as leading innovators in the fashion world (Kawamura 2004:36; Niessen 2003:216; Sudilc 1990:84). Collectively they have been described as avant-garde designers (Sudjic 1990:13; Breward and Gilbert 2006:58), creators of the Japanese fashion revolution in Paris (Kawamura 2005:96), and exponents of anti-fashion design (Kondo 1997:118). These designers defied the prevailing fashion norms and produced clothes referred to as "wearable art" through the use of advanced technology (Leventon 2005:25). While there are volumes of articles crediting them as revolutionary designers over the years, there is limited literature material that clearly articulates what these designers did differently. Various scholars have tried to uncover what it was that Japanese designers brought to international fashion (Koren 1984; Koda 1987; Coleridge 1989; Evans and Thornton 1989), yet none have been conclusive enough to provide the "recipe for success" that Miyake, Kawakubo and Yamamoto have achieved