Issey Miyake - Plantation

[versterker]

Hey all - Newish here so please forgive if I'm not in quite posting in the right area. Was wondering if anyone could help me with some more information (date etc.) on this Issey Miyake Plantation full length denim belted jacket that I bought recently in NYC.

Apologies for the background lol, it's obviously vintage so I'm just giving it a bit of airing in the utility room. It clearly has some age / wear to it, and it's a size Medium, although it fits my precariously vacillating 50/52 Eur frame absolutely perfectly.

Would be very grateful if anyone had an idea of date, some more info on the Plantation line (I can find surprisingly little online) etc.

The color is tricky to get right digitally, it's a sort of Olive Grey. The fabric is a really beautiful mid-weight denim, and those few pleats at the front that give it a Miyake feel ...

Any information and general thoughts would be great.

Thanks so much

BW

 

[FlyingMonkey]

I'm not sure that's Issey Miyake Plantation, because that very short-lived line (early 80s) generally had "Issey Miyake" written before "Plantation'. It might be an early piece from the still extant Japanese label, "Plantation" http://www.plantation1982.com/ which has exactly the same typeface on the label (as above) and may have been a continuation of the line, just without Miyake's involvement, I don't know. Perhaps someone like @Rosenrot, who has a better knowledge of Japanese vintage fashion, could answer. What I do know about Plantation is that it's mainly a women's label and these days, despite the lookbook pictures they put out, is very much tasteful but safe women's wear. My wife says her mother was a fan...

 

[versterker]

Hey there @FlyingMonkey - thanks so much for sharing your knowledge on this, very much appreciated. The plot thickens so! I wasn't aware of the other, still existing, Plantation line, and the salesperson where I purchased the item (a very well known, primarily Japanese, vintage store in New York which I won't name!) did specifically state that it was from the Miyake Plantation line, but it sounds like you are more knowledgeable on the subject! As you say, perhaps the newer line was a continuation of some kind ...

I'm even more keen to know more about it now!!

Can I ask you a silly question - could you tell me how I would forward this to the member you mentioned?

Thank you again, I am very grateful for your advice.

Kindest

BW

 

[FlyingMonkey]

It might well be, I don't know - but if you look here, you'll see the Issey Miyake Plantation label (scroll down): https://vintagefashionguild.org/label-resource/miyake-issey/

(and if she's around, Rosenrot will get the message).

Edit: she actually wrote something about Issey Miyake's Plantation here: http://the-rosenrot.com/2016/05/issey-miyakes-plantation.html (again, note the label).

 

[versterker]

Hey there, thanks again for taking the time to reply, and for the links. I see exactly what you mean about the label. It is most peculiar that the typeface is quite literally identical between the Miyake Plantation line and the extant Plantation line. (I'm fairly familiar with typography, so I'm almost certain it's the exact same font.)

I feel as though it is a menswear piece for two reasons. While I'm aware that Japanese avant-garde clothing sizes can be quite unconventional, given the shape of the garment, the fact that a size Medium fits a relatively tall, and certainly not particularly thin, European man's frame so well would make it seem unlikely that it was created for a lady (although I could be completely wrong). Secondly, the buttons are sewn on the the right hand side, and although I'm not sure if this is only a Western convention, it usually denotes a men's jacket if I am correct.

Again the information that I can find online is patchy, apart from those two articles that you kindly linked to.

I would love to have @Rosenrot 's input, and again thank you kindly for your help @FlyingMonkey

BW

 

[Rosenrot]

I've never handled that exact garment model, but that is indeed the Plantation label originally started by Issey Miyake. The manufacturer's label is the same as all other brands under the Miyake umbrella. The PL in the model number refers to 'Plantation', in contrast to his mainline that starts with 'IM' and Pleats Please that starts with 'PP' etc.

The label shows that the piece is made by A-Net Inc. (工イ ネツト), a subsidiary of Miyake Design Studio and a sister company to Issey Miyake Inc. They produce and run the Plantation label since their inception in 1996, which probably means that your piece was made in the late nineties.

In the 80s, the label's marketing visuals depicted men and women in Plantation clothes, so we can conclude that it was unisex. I don't know what it was like in the 90s but the current communications approach has steered away from that, which I assume is made for commercial purposes. Despite the change in editorial direction however, the clothes themselves are still mostly made to be airy and unisex. The button placement being on the 'menswear' side is a bit of quirk that Comme des Garçons and Issey Miyake do very often for womenswear, not all pieces, but a great many of them, possibly to indicate that the garments are meant to be unisex rather than womens only.

 

[FlyingMonkey]

I've never handled that exact garment model, but that is indeed the Plantation label originally started by Issey Miyake. The manufacturer's label is the same as all other brands under the Miyake umbrella.

Thanks for that super informative reply!

 

[versterker]

Hello @Rosenrot - thank you so much for taking the time to share your expertise in an incredibly helpful and detailed reply, I am truly very grateful.

I am much more informed about the garment now, and therefore feel a closer connection to it. I know it is a piece I will enjoy for many years. I am delighted to have your insights, to understand its relation to other Issey Miyake lines and to have learned about the thinking behind the buttoning!

Thank you again, and thank you @FlyingMonkey for your help and putting me in touch with @Rosenrot

A very Happy New Year to you both, from Dublin, Ireland.

 

[Rosenrot]

My pleasure and happy new year!

 

[Elmomimo]

I've never handled that exact garment model, but that is indeed the Plantation label originally started by Issey Miyake. The manufacturer's label is the same as all other brands under the Miyake umbrella. The PL in the model number refers to 'Plantation', in contrast to his mainline that starts with 'IM' and Pleats Please that starts with 'PP' etc.

The label shows that the piece is made by A-Net Inc. (工イ ネツト), a subsidiary of Miyake Design Studio and a sister company to Issey Miyake Inc. They produce and run the Plantation label since their inception in 1996, which probably means that your piece was made in the late nineties.

In the 80s, the label's marketing visuals depicted men and women in Plantation clothes, so we can conclude that it was unisex. I don't know what it was like in the 90s but the current communications approach has steered away from that, which I assume is made for commercial purposes. Despite the change in editorial direction however, the clothes themselves are still mostly made to be airy and unisex. The button placement being on the 'menswear' side is a bit of quirk that Comme des Garçons and Issey Miyake do very often for womenswear, not all pieces, but a great many of them, possibly to indicate that the garments are meant to be unisex rather than womens only.