Issey Miyake Spring/Summer 2015 Concept Movie
This video narrative for the 3D Steam Stretch process of concise 3D shape-making using steam and woven fabric is a conceptual the journey of transformation into a single finished product. Done by WOW, a Japanese based visual design studio that specialise in visual installations, motion graphics and development. The video itself was directed by Takuma Nakazi, and produced by Fumihito Anzai. Accompanied by ambient music that acts as the aural experience instead of words, the video incorporates 3D visuals from the beginning that sets the tone for the rest of the movie. The Steam Stretch method is one which emphasises the importance of process and detail within design, from the process of obtaining materials that form the basic building blocks of the product, to the presentation of the product itself. The movie is successful in conveying this, but the method itself may be lost in the digital graphics created.
The imagery is crisp and delicate, careful to show how the product is achieved, but the aesthetic generated by the visuals overrides that initial intention. The movie uses repeated scenes in order to solidify the iteration that occurs during any design process, which might invoke a sense of appreciation for the finished product. The innovative nature of technology doesn’t mean the sacrifice of the process, but further illustrates its need. The 3D Steam Stretch method includes the composition of product, from its basic component (i.e. woven fabric) to the finished product (garments worn during fashion show). This method could be tedious in terms of mass production, but introduce a standard of quality within the fashion design world. 
It is an acquired skill which affords qualification needs within its process and requires a basic understating of algorithms involved. This type of innovation within the design world will lead to a more interesting future. The movie uses repeated scenes in order to solidify the iteration that occurs during any design process, which might invoke a sense of appreciation for the finished product. The innovative nature of technology doesn’t mean the sacrifice of the process, but further illustrates its need. The finished product, designed by Issey Miyake, is a wardrobe of post-modern complex garments which have dynamic qualities, as shown on the models who walk in them. 
The garments are post-modern in the sense that they lack the conformity as well as restriction of what modern fashion and design in general have in place. The garments are draped on the models as works of design rather than what they are meant to be in their basic reduction, which is clothing/ protection from the elements.
The material seems stiff and irritable to the skin because of the edges caused by the cubic pattern, but have a technologically pleasing aesthetic to them. The designer has taken the human body into consideration but the level of comfort is subject to the user.
by Thelma Ndebele
