Pleats Please Issey Miyake SS1998 Lucky Child and Golden Carp Print Long Dress PP81-JH988, Turquoise and Green, Size 3

One of the defining Pleats Please prints: a chubby lucky child astride a great golden carp among lotus blossoms, after Chinese New Year pictures, on a floor-length turquoise dress with emerald sleeves.

The Piece

Pleats Please Issey Miyake was introduced in 1993 out of the garment-pleating research Miyake and his studio had pursued since the late 1980s. Instead of pleating cloth and then cutting it, each piece is cut and sewn two and a half to three times larger than its finished size and then fed, sandwiched between paper, through a heat press, so the pleats are set into the finished garment itself. The result is light, packable, washable and practically uncreasable, and it changed how a generation of women thought about dressing well.

In 1998 the label turned to the bright, auspicious imagery of Chinese nianhua, the New Year pictures pasted on doors for luck and abundance. The child riding a carp is among the oldest of those images, a wish for prosperity year after year, and on this dress it becomes a full-length portrait: the child and an enormous red-gold carp fill the body, framed by pink lotus, water lilies and goldfish against a clear turquoise ground. The long sleeves are a solid emerald green.

The model, PP81-JH988, is a high-necked column that runs from the throat almost to the ankle, at 129 cm long. It is the longest and most dramatic format the print was made in, and it is the version collectors and curators look for.

The PLEATS PLEASE bilingual care label and the Japanese composition tag reading PP81-JH988, size 3, are present inside.

Details

• Designer: Issey Miyake
• Season: SS1998
• Model / ref: PP81-JH988
• Material: 100% polyester
• Colour: Turquoise with multicolour print, emerald sleeves
• Made in: Japan
• Tagged size: 3
• Measurements: Shoulder 52 cm · Chest (pit to pit) 44 cm · Sleeve 55 cm · Length 129 cm
• Included: Dress only

Condition

• No conspicuous marks or damage noted.
• Print saturated and clear.
• Pleats in good order.
• Light wear to the inner labels; general signs of a worn piece.

Condition grade B on the Japanese scale; see Japanese condition ranks, explained.

Authenticity & Care

The labels, materials, stitching, hardware and construction are examined together and documented in Japan before dispatch; anything that cannot be confirmed is stated plainly in the description. Every piece carries the Japonista authenticity guarantee. Machine wash cool in a net or hand wash, then roll in a towel and lay flat or hang to dry; never tumble dry or iron, and the pleats will keep their shape for decades.

Delivery from Japan

Packed by hand in Japan and shipped insured and tracked by EMS or an equivalent express service. Import duties and taxes, where applicable, are payable on arrival. Every sale is final; please ask anything before you buy, and see our published policy.

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