A-POC ABLE ISSEY MIYAKE and contemporary artist Tomokazu Matsuyama have opened a landmark exhibition at the newly inaugurated ISSEY MIYAKE / NEW YORK flagship on Madison Avenue, marking the physical manifestation of their TYPE-XII collaboration that began in Tokyo last spring. Running through August 31, the show transforms the brand’s gallery space, MADO, into an immersive installation that collapses the boundary between wearable art and studio practice.
The project emerged from Matsuyama’s first major solo exhibition, “Tomokazu Matsuyama: FIRST LAST,” at Tokyo’s Azabudai Hills Gallery in Spring 2025. The reception was strong enough to warrant expansion, and now, a year into the collaboration, A-POC ABLE is releasing new coats that embed Matsuyama’s artwork directly into fabric, alongside exclusive T-shirt releases available only at this Manhattan location. The pieces arrive at a moment when fashion is increasingly positioned as a vehicle for fine art rather than a surface for it, and this collection argues the distinction dissolves entirely.
The New York exhibition itself is structured around Matsuyama’s recurring motif of equestrian sculptures, fabricated using the same 3D printing technology that shapes A-POC ABLE’s mannequins. These sculptures sit alongside original paintings and dynamic textile installations suspended from the ceiling, creating visual continuity between gallery object and garment. The coats themselves are the centerpiece: vividly printed in Kyoto with a triangular pattern applied via specialized technique, the base fabric shifts dimensionally as the body moves. What reads as flat graphic on the bolt transforms into three-dimensional texture through wear, making each piece responsive to its wearer rather than static.
This responsiveness is central to A-POC ABLE’s design philosophy. The line, which operates under the umbrella concept of exploring “ABLEs” through cross-industry collaboration, has consistently treated the garment as a site of encounter rather than a finished object. By partnering with an artist whose practice spans sculpture, painting, and installation, the collaboration extends that logic: the coat becomes a gallery piece that travels, changes, and lives in the world rather than remaining fixed on a wall.
The timing of the exhibition at the newly opened Madison Avenue flagship amplifies its significance. ISSEY MIYAKE’s return to a substantial New York presence after years of operating primarily through wholesale and smaller storefronts signals a strategic recalibration toward direct-to-consumer retail in major markets. The space itself, designed with the brand’s minimalist vocabulary, functions as a blank canvas for exhibitions like this one. Rather than competing with architecture, the gallery accommodates art; the coats and sculptures exist in clean, deliberate space.
The seven exclusive T-shirt designs, printed on A-POC’s seamless knitwear, offer a more accessible entry point to the collaboration. These pieces democratize the concept without diluting it: the same dialogue between Matsuyama’s visual language and A-POC ABLE’s construction methodology is active in a $300 shirt as it is in a $1,200 coat. For collectors of both contemporary art and design, this tiered approach makes the exhibition economically inclusive while maintaining conceptual rigor. Discover more of the exhibition in our gallery:
The exhibition runs through August 31 at ISSEY MIYAKE / NEW YORK, 45 Madison Avenue. Hours are Monday through Saturday, 11:00 AM to 7:00 PM, and Sunday, 12:00 PM to 6:00 PM. The coats and exclusive T-shirts are available for purchase throughout the run.
For more on the TYPE-XII collection, see our previous feature. Follow coverage of New York’s design and fashion scene here, and explore more from ISSEY MIYAKE.
