The Issey Miyake Fall 2023 Ready-to-Wear was centered around the idea of expanding both the geometrical and ideological bounds of the square. The Square and Beyond, presented at the Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris, was inspired by expanding traditional notions of the square, from its use in almost every creative profession, i.e. a canvas, a music score, or a piece of fabric. As a shape, the square is rational in a sense, yet the concept at Miyake was to expand the geometry into the irrational.

Starting with the square piece of cloth, the silhouettes presented were clearly geometrically informed, with the opening looks giving a sharp sense of shape to the models’ bodies. In the form of an uber-simplified peplum, tops hug close to the wearer at the chest before expanding in width at the hem, paired with trousers that are wider at the waist before narrowing down towards the angle. This play with shapes has led to a consistent diamond-shaped silhouette in a range of the looks; close to the body at both the neck and the ankle, and rather expansive in the middle of the body.

Elsewhere, the square is materialized in printed garments, most joyous in the section of the show that consisted of green and white looks. Perhaps the most interesting treatment of the square is seen in one of its more traditional fashionable forms, seen in a plaid. In the axis of the grid of the plaid, shrinking yarn has been used, which has led to these points to bunch up as a part of the pattern itself. This relationship between the rigidity of the plaid and the organic form of the material is a very clear expression of the development of the square for this season.

Towards the end of the collection, a myriad of technicolor knit creations came down the runway, with clear inspiration from the square in both pattern and silhouette. These looks are realizations of the silhouettes from the beginning of the show, with the addition of bold color blocking, resulting in vivid knit creations that are soft in material yet geometric in their construction.