Ever since Satoshi Kondo took over as design director at Issey Miyake in 2019, the brand that shot to international fame as part of the Japanese invasion of Paris in the 1980s has become one of the most unmissable fixtures of the Paris schedule. Traditionally, Issey Miyake has show in a space that reflects the ethos of the brand itself – somewhere very crisp and clean – but this season we travelled across Paris to the Palais de la Porte Dorée (or, The Palace of the Golden Gate), a building famed as an Art Deco landmark.

It fits that Satoshi Kondo chose this location as it reflects what he seems to be doing with Issey Miyake itself. The brand is famed for its pleats and its technical fabrics, but at this season’s show the classic pleats took something of a backseat. Instead, there were seamless knit dresses [Looks #1 – #3] that were informed by the shape of flowers, the hats of which were reminiscent of foxgloves. Huge sculptural pieces in the form of tops and dresses [Looks #4 – #8]  were informed by a piece of cloth wrapped around the torso. The block colours of Looks #31 & #37 were vibrant and garish in a very good way, the outfits consuming the bodies they were on and looked incredibly cosy.

But, of course, the pleats had to make an appearance somewhere and, in this show, it was the final five looks that each felt like utter showstoppers. Pieces of pleated sheer fabric enveloped the models, the vibrant yellows and greens and pinks being matched all the way down to the shoes. The final look, a bride in black, was a breathtaking finale.