Discuss the influence that Issey Miyake's Japanese heritage had on his models.1971 Miyake's intentions were: to discover the traditional beauty of a Japan that is disappearing; highlight the importance of clothes produced industrially using synthetic materials; to demonstrate the secret beauty of Japanese women. I try to create clothes that give fundamental importance to the movement of the body. I want to produce, more than fashion to wear, fashion to take off... because that is where the beauty of man's primitive spirit is found. (Tokyo Vogue p44)Although Miyake had acquired a traditional Western education, he wanted to find his own way of doing fashion, explaining that “Western tradition in clothing seemed too rigid to me. I wanted to create things that could be free, both mentally and physically” (Marie-André Jouve, 1997, p.11). He returned home to Japan, after training with French courtiers and the American designer Geoffrey Beene, to rediscover the aesthetics and rich artisan culture of his homeland. His design practice challenged the Western system by referencing his Japanese heritage, he always maintained that he did not want to suggest Japanese culture with his clothing but to "be between cultures" (O'Brien, 1993, p.23 as cited in Kawamura, 2004, p.96). Miyake's early designs were made of quilted sashiko fabric (a form of decorative reinforcing stitching), in the styles originally worn by farmers and sumo wrestlers. He, however, cut the fabric more generously and adapted it for modern use. His drawings were very loose and constructed like a piece of clay sculpture, not based on the human figure. Miyake wanted the... center of the paper... the color black. For the Japanese, the color black is not monotonous but a sign of moderation and dignity. Black is associated with self-discipline, samurai wore darker kimonos with expensive decorated linings that were private and subtle in contrast to the Western preference for in-your-face glamour. This preference for subtlety is evident in Buddhism where there is an appreciation of simplicity, poverty and an acceptance of imperfection. An everyday task, the Japanese tea ceremony, became an artistic ritual representative of the importance of simplicity. His clothes favored asymmetry, creases and folds, exposed seams, found objects and accidents. Another hallmark of Japanese fashion is its conceptual approach and its questioning of Western fashion. One of the ways Miyake did this was by using older non-professional models between the ages of 62 and 92.