The Issey Miyake retrospective at the National Art Museum in Tokyo. And about simplifying my wardrobe.

Yesterday was a beautiful winter/spring day in Tokyo, living a #Travelife.

I decided to head for the National Art Museum in Tokyo’s Minato Ward, a cool and contemporary building of glass and steel, to see the retrospective that the museum mounted as a tribute to Issey Miyake, perhaps Japan’s greatest fashion designer.

No one else can make clothes like Issey Miyake does.

Issey Miyake’s clothes move in unimaginable ways, and yet everything works. I love wearing his designs and whenever I do, I can’t help thinking to myself: “This man is really an artist.“

So I own a lot of Issey Miyake clothes, which take me from casual to formal, from morning to night, and to events and non-events around the world. I bring my Issey Miyake clothes everywhere in my never-ending #Travelife.

And wherever and whenever I wear them, his clothes feel right.

The only other piece of clothing that’s ever made me feel this way is a black coat dress I bought at the most fashionable boutique in Marrakech about two trips ago.

By Morocco shopping standards, it was a rather pricey garment; but my companions urged me to get it saying I would probably never see another coat dress like it again. I am so glad they pushed me to do it as this coat dress fits so well in Tokyo.

I just wore it to a dinner with friends last Saturday, in fact.

So slowly, I’m phasing out my wardrobe and simplifying my life so that every piece of clothing I own will either be something sporty for a safari or for a weekend in the mountains, or something cutting edge and unusual but extremely comfortable like an Issey Miyake creation.

And of course my favourite Tinsley dresses which are so nice to bring on holidays — whether it’s South Africa or the south of France, as always living a #Travelife.

Wearing Tinsley in Tanzania, living a #Travelife…

The Issey Miyake retrospective in Tokyo covered some of Issey Miyake’s most interesting creations from the 1970s to 2015.

As a big fan, it was very nice to see how his style has evolved. 

Many of the items on exhibit were on the outrageous side, frankly, but they were beautiful to look at in terms of art.

There are even three stations with mini Issey dresses that you can practice putting on a mannequin, just to be able to appreciate the complicated and yet easy design of the dress. And there’s also a station where you can watch one of Issey Miyake’s latest Pleats Please creations being made.

And a couple of items were clothes I could easily imagine in my closets: comfortable and memorable designs. Never boring. Just like my never-ending #Travelife.