A-POC ABLE ISSEY MIYAKE has officially launched the “TYPE-V Nature Architects” project, following its conceptual debut during Milan Design Week 2023. The collection, now available, brings to life a new generation of garments shaped through heat-reactive technology, with minimal need for sewing or traditional construction. At the center of this development is a blouson that transforms from flat fabric into a fully formed, three-dimensional piece when exposed to high-temperature steam.
The collection expands upon A-POC ABLE ISSEY MIYAKE’s ongoing commitment to innovation in fabric manipulation. Unlike conventional garment making, where multiple parts are cut and sewn together, the TYPE-V project introduces a new methodology, integrating metamaterials directly into the A-POC system. This enables unprecedented control over form and structure, pushing the boundaries of how pleats and volume can be achieved within a single piece of textile.
The technological backbone of the project is a collaboration with Nature Architects, who brought their Direct Functional Modeling™ (DFM) system to the process. DFM calculates the specific shrinkage behaviors required to shape a piece of fabric into a predefined structure. These calculations are then embedded into the textile via A-POC ABLE ISSEY MIYAKE’s “Steam Stretch” technique, allowing complex geometries to emerge from heat activation alone.
What results is a garment that feels both futuristic and functional, one that carries the experimental legacy of ISSEY MIYAKE while stepping firmly into the future of computational design and responsive materials. The TYPE-V blouson represents a fusion of scientific logic and artistic sensibility, distilling algorithmic rigor into something as wearable as it is conceptual.
This release marks a shift from prototype to product, signaling a new phase in A-POC ABLE ISSEY MIYAKE’s research-driven approach to fashion. As wearable technology continues to move beyond electronics and into the very threads of our clothing, projects like TYPE-V suggest that transformation itself may become a new kind of design language.
this is gorgeous 😍