This exhibition in Mumbai pays an homage to Issey Miyake’s legacy

Baro Market and Ratan J Batliboi present a showcase of Mumbai-based entrepreneur the late Mina Krishnan’s 70-piece collection of Japanese designer Issey Miyake’s clothing

The ingenuity of Issey Miyake was evident enough when he combined math and geometry with fashion. The Japanese designer, who, as a child, aspired to be a dancer, experimented with pleating in the 1980s to aid better movement for the human body. Given his obsession with form and fabric, he was often bestowed with the titles of an engineer, an innovator and, of course, the king of pleats. Miyake’s exploration of structure in clothing can be viewed first-hand in Mumbai, at the ongoing exhibition Clothes That Changed The World—Mina’s Collection of Issey Miyake.

Currently on display at Gallery 47-A in Khotachiwadi, the show brings together 70 pieces of clothing collected by entrepreneur Mina Krishnan over three decades. It features several limited-edition and vintage pieces from the previous collections, including from the iconic ‘Pleat Please’ line, which was first launched in 1988. This line consists of clothes made with a unique pleating technique, where the materials are developed from a single thread and pleats are added after sewing the clothes into shape.The ‘132.5’ line, meanwhile, transforms the cloth from a 3D surface to 2D with recycled polyester fabric, and the HaaT line combines Japanese textiles and Indian craftsmanship. Lastly, the Bao Bao line features fabrics that are layered and engineered with small triangles of polyvinyl.

Through this showcase, architect and curator of the exhibition, Ratan J Batliboi, takes us through the many interconnecting stories between Krishnan and Miyake.

Mina and Miyake

Mina Krishnan’s association with Issey Miyake goes beyond clothes; it is more philosophical and spiritual. Miyake’s ideology and concept of ‘monozukuri’—his own way of doing things—was what Krishnan had always lived by as an entrepreneur. She was in her thirties when she walked into a Miyake store for the first time, in Singapore in the 1980s. Her love affair with Miyake’s structural, abstract and timeless designs have only grown since then, so much so that even her husband now has a modest collection from Miyake’s Homme Plisse line for men.  

If you’re wondering whether Krishnan had met Miyake, then the answer is yes. In fact, it was quite serendipitous. He was seated across the aisle from her on the Concorde to Paris; he smiled at her, acknowledging her outfit and his design. Moreover, call it sheer coincidence or divine faith, but Miyake passed away last year on 5 August, just two days after Krishnan’s death. “Sometimes, things just happen in ways you can’t really explain,” says Batliboi. “The white roses that you see on these mannequins pays an homage to Mina’s life and death,” he says, pointing at the mannequins dressed in statement pieces from Krishnan’s wardrobe.

The exhibit also has a projection of the many ways and techniques in which Miyake’s clothes are made, putting creativity, pragmatism and technology to best use. 

From Japan to Khotachiwadi

A Miyake showcase in Mumbai is a treat for fashion and design aficionados alike. When asked about the inception of this display, Batliboi formed a gun with his finger and put it on his temple. “I was forced by Srila [Chatterjee, the founder of Baro Market] to do this,” he says jokingly. Krishnan, Batliboi and Chatterjee have known each other for years. After Krishnan’s passing last year, her husband Mohan and daughter Ayesha wished to share her love and appreciation for Miyake’s work, and it was only fitting that Batliboi, a family friend, helm it in the city that Krishnan called home despite having travelled across the globe.

“Mina has grown up in her grandmother’s home in Bhatwadi (in Girgaum), which is a few lanes away from Khotachiwadi. Presenting this here, in this space,only made sense as it’s close to her home, where her roots are,” says Batliboi.

For Batliboi, this showcase is for everyone to appreciate the beauty of Miyake’s design and philosophy, from fashion enthusiasts to students. “It’s Mina’s gift to all of us,” he says. The private collection is all sold in its entirety. “We didn’t want to sell individual pieces from this collection to different people and deal with issues like size. We thought it was best to sell this collection as a whole. The proceeds will go to Child Rights and You (CRY), a not-for-profit organisation that Mina had supported with her first big paycheque,” he says. The exhibition, then, is not only a display of Miyake’s genius as a creator and an innovator but also a reflection of Krishnan’s persona through Miyake’s clothing. 

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