HOMME PLISSÉ ISSEY MIYAKE celebrates Matisse at Tate

HOMME PLISSÉ ISSEY MIYAKE has presented the second edition of its OPEN STUDIO project at Tate Modern, bringing together fashion, contemporary dance and the work of Henri Matisse. Ahead of London Fashion Week, the show was spectacular!

Taking place on 16 September 2026 in the South Tank at Tate Modern, the project was developed in collaboration with Tate and takes Matisse’s The Snail (1953) as its starting point. The work, one of the artist’s celebrated paper cut-outs, is part of Tate’s collection and is known for its arrangement of brightly coloured paper forms against a white background.

The project explores the relationship between Matisse’s approach to composition and the principles behind HOMME PLISSÉ ISSEY MIYAKE. In The Snail, Matisse created a composition by cutting and arranging coloured paper rather than working with traditional painting techniques. The brand similarly works with fabric through pleating, transforming a flat material into three-dimensional forms designed to move with the body. Matisse is of course, the author of the iconic work titled La Danse.

For OPEN STUDIO, this connection was explored through a live performance rather than a conventional fashion presentation. The South Tank was used as a performance environment, with garments initially placed beneath a felt-covered floor. Performers gradually revealed and put on the garments as the performance developed, eventually recreating the composition of The Snail using pleated clothing.

The dance element was based on One One One, an improvisational methodology developed by Ioannis Mandafounis, artistic director of the Dresden Frankfurt Dance Company. The format places emphasis on interaction between dancers and individual audience members, using eye contact and physical movement to establish an improvised exchange.

This approach also shaped the way the audience experienced the presentation. Rather than observing a conventional catwalk, visitors were positioned within the performance space and became part of the interaction between dancers, garments and the artwork.

The final composition recreated the coloured forms of The Snail through pleated garments. As the pieces were worn and moved through the space, the relationship between Matisse’s original paper forms and the physical qualities of pleated fabric became the central focus of the presentation.

The Tate collaboration forms part of HOMME PLISSÉ ISSEY MIYAKE’s wider OPEN STUDIO initiative, which is designed to explore the relationship between clothing, art, performance and place outside the traditional fashion-show format. The first edition took place in Florence in 2025 at the Villa Medicea della Petraia during Pitti Uomo.

For the Tate edition, the collaboration extends beyond the performance itself. HOMME PLISSÉ ISSEY MIYAKE has created a limited capsule collection inspired by The Snail, translating elements of Matisse’s composition and colour palette into a series of garments and accessories.

The collection includes a button-front cardigan, sleeveless tunic, short-sleeved T-shirt, crossbody bag and scarf, alongside pleated tops featuring colours taken from the artwork.

The capsule collection is available through Tate Shops and the Tate online store from 17 September 2026 for a limited period. Selected pieces will also be available at ISSEY MIYAKE stores in Tokyo, Osaka and London from January 2027.

HOMME PLISSÉ ISSEY MIYAKE had already begun exploring collaborations with artists before the launch of OPEN STUDIO. Its A/W 2024 collection, presented on the Paris runway, was created in collaboration with Ronan Bouroullec, whose felt-tip drawings were printed across the garments. Printed pieces were also hung along the walls of Palais de Tokyo, extending Bouroullec’s work into the setting of the show.

The project continues a longstanding interest within the ISSEY MIYAKE universe in the relationship between art, material and the body. Here, the connection with Matisse is particularly direct: The Snail demonstrates the artist’s use of cutting, layering and arrangement to create a composition, while HOMME PLISSÉ ISSEY MIYAKE applies a similarly process-driven approach to fabric through its signature pleating techniques.

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