PARIS - Dai Fujiwara, the creative director of Issey Miyake, likes complicated stuff. He regularly seeks inspiration in fields like astrophysics or fluid dynamics, delving in with extensive research and hands-on experiments.
But Fujiwara's inspiration for Friday's fall-winter 2011-12 ready-to-wear collection -- his last as the label's creative director -- couldn't have been simpler: It was all about origami.
Stage hands clad in black and brandishing staplers unrolled oversized scrolls of paper on the catwalk and, working in teams, folded and stapled them into clothes: a stiff white paper vest, a jacket, a dress, a scarf, and a skirt that looked like an upside-down tulip. They fitted them onto models in black leggings and T-shirts as a child banged out a beginners' version of "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star" on a grand piano installed at the end of the runway.
Five other models then appeared, wearing sophisticated thread-and-cloth versions of the origami garments, and the audience burst into spontaneous applause -- a rare sign of enthusiasm in the generally blase fashion crowd.
The collection that followed, dresses and princess coats in graphic zigzags, checks and houndstooth knits and puffer coats folded, origami-style, into innovative shapes, was among Fujiwara's strongest in his five years at the helm of the Tokyo-based label.
The soundtrack -- "Twinkle, Twinkle" over and over again -- got progressively more sophisticated as the show went along, its complexity matching the growing sophistication on the runway.
The house, which has struggled in recent years to match the earlier success of founder Issey Miyake following his retirement, announced Fujiwara was leaving after Friday's show, though he is to help oversee the studio's design of next season's collection. His replacement will be named in April, staffers said.
"I feel the time is right that I pass the baton onto this next generation, and I do so with joy and anticipation," said a letter from Fujiwara in the show's collection notes.
With Friday's fine collection, Fujiwara is leaving on a high note.
