Issey Miyake Description

Browse Issey Miyake's fragrance collection, featuring scents that reflect the designer's philosophy of innovation through natural inspiration. Issey Miyake was a Japanese fashion designer born on April 22, 1938, in Hiroshima, who survived the atomic bombing at age seven. He studied graphic design at Tama Art University before moving to Paris in 1965, where he trained under Guy Laroche and Hubert de Givenchy before working with Geoffrey Beene in New York. In 1970, he returned to Tokyo and founded the Miyake Design Studio, presenting his first collection in Paris in 1973, where his unconventional approach to fashion challenged European conventions.

The fragrance line launched in 1992 with L'Eau d'Issey, created by perfumer Jacques Cavallier in collaboration with Beauté Prestige International and Shiseido. Miyake saw water as both the greatest material and the greatest source of inspiration, and the fragrance's name draws connections with Homer's Odyssey, signifying the start of his journey into perfumery. The bottle was inspired by a full moon rising above the Eiffel Tower that Miyake witnessed from his Paris apartment. L'Eau d'Issey became an international bestseller and helped popularize aquatic fragrances in the 1990s. The men's version, L'Eau d'Issey Pour Homme, followed in 1994, featuring yuzu as its signature note.

The collection has since expanded to include Nuit d'Issey, a woody leather composition that evokes forests bathed in moonlight, along with numerous variations of the original L'Eau d'Issey line including Pure, Solar Violet, and a drop d'Issey. Issey Miyake passed away on August 5, 2022, at age 84, but the fragrance house continues to develop new scents while maintaining his founding philosophy of creating products that inspire hope and convey a sense of wonder through simple yet functional designs.