Issey Miayke Set

From the prismatic Pleats Please collection to the modular, three-dimensional garments crafted from recycled plastic bottles in his Reality Lab, the captivating fashions by Japanese designer Issey Miyake are all about movement.

Born in Hiroshima, Miyake studied graphic design at Tama Art University in Tokyo before relocating to Paris in 1965, where he studied couture and cut his teeth working for Guy Laroche and Hubert de Givenchy. In 1969, he moved to New York, where he worked for Geoffrey Beene. He returned to Tokyo in 1970 to found his first solo venture, the Miyake Design Studio. It wasn’t until the 1990s, though, that the designer had his breakthrough moment with experimentations in pleating. Some of his earliest explorations were for choreographer William Forsythe’s Frankfurt Ballet Company, with the 1991 performance of The Loss of Small Detail featuring costumes Miyake designed with pleats that complemented and transformed the movement of the dancers.

Though long a staple in couture — from delicate women’s skirts to men’s suit pants — pleats took on new life in Miyake’s hands. By using a heat press to cure his fabrics after his garments are stitched, Miyake was able to maintain the accordion structure of the pleat, turning a series of folds into sculptural, often futuristic forms unbound by the shape of the human body. In 1993, Miyake debuted “garment pleating” in his Pleats Please line, in which the clothes are constructed at a size that is larger than what is intended for the finished product. The pleats are then created — a process that involves folding and ironing and is separate from the joining of seams — and individual pieces are subsequently hand-fed into a heat press. The pleats are permanent and the garments can be worn and washed without losing their shape.

Miyake’s pleats run the gamut in scale, which enabled him to evoke dramatic, sharp silhouettes and flowy movements in equal measure. In essence, he created an entirely new material whose iterations are infinite — a feat of technology as much as fashion.

Other innovations include Miyake’s 1997 Just Before collection, which introduced a series of tube-knit dresses that could be cut as desired, reducing both work and resources. His Reality Lab now investigates new materials, such as a fully recycled polyester. Miyake’s prowess, in fact, captured another iconic figure in the tech world: Steve Jobs, for whom the designer made hundreds of identical black turtlenecks, the late Apple founder’s sartorial signature.

Find a collection of vintage Issey Miyake day dresses, jackets, shirts and other clothing on 1stDibs.

For fashion lovers, the 1990s have become associated with styles adopted by today’s supermodels and influencers, who never wear the same thing twice. And because fast fashion didn’t yet exist, the design associated with 1990s fashion — vintage '90s handbags, clothing and accessories — has a quality appreciated by the millennial generation: authenticity.

If there was one concept unifying fashion in the 1990s, it was the lean silhouette. “Fashion is a game of proportion,” Alexander Fury wrote in the New York Times in 2016. “Narrow-shouldered and narrow-hipped, the ’90s were skinny.”

If it takes a practiced eye to identify that single concept, that’s because in truth, ’90s fashion was many things to many people. After the 1980s era of strong-shouldered working women, glossy aerobicized bodies and Madonna, fashion branched out.

The industry gained momentum from big-money relaunches of the great Paris houses Dior, Givenchy and Balenciaga, rescued at long last from the constraints of licensing. Japan and Belgium gave fashion new avant-garde ideas to play with. From America came denim, minimalism, '90s grunge fashion and hip-hop. From Italy came sex appeal. And Prada.

For the colorful corsets of her 1990 Portrait collection, audacious British designer Dame Vivienne Westwood drew on 18th-century oil paintings — her models donned the pearl choker necklaces that have become a social media star and a favorite of influencers and fashion lovers all over the world. For a jacket-and-shorts suit from her Fall/Winter 1996–97 Storm in a Teacup line, the designer used the extreme asymmetry of a tartan mash-up to confront, according to Westwood, “the horror of uniformity and minimalism.”

“The ethos of the time was, you could have style, you could be into all kinds of cool stuff. It wasn’t about money, it wasn’t about status,” says Katy Rodriguez, cofounder of Resurrection. In contrast, “our last 10 years have seen the domination of nonstop luxury, money and status.”

Vintage 1990s Chanel bags, for example, are among the most prized of the brand’s offerings — at Newfound Luxury, proprietor L. Kiyana Macon has "clients who only buy ’90s Chanel because they recognize that it is the best quality.” 

Things were different in the ’90s, and the difference is reflected in the clothes. Pull up any recent “How to Do the 1990s” fashion article (or look at photos of current supermodels Gigi, Kendall and Bella), and you’ll see iconic '90s outfits — knee socks, cardigans, fanny packs, fishnet stockings, slip dresses, flannel shirts and combat boots.

Rodriguez has recently noticed something similar happening. Before COVID, customers searched 1990s stock “for very sexy Galliano, Dior, Cavalli — that kind of thing,” she explains, noting that just a few months ago, “people were posting [on social media] the poshest things they could.” Now, in the age of shutdown, “that would just look out of touch.”

Instead, people are looking for “things that are cool but also easy and comfortable, not necessarily super-luxe,” Rodriguez continues. They’re “heading back to the more avant-garde, anti-fashion designers, like Helmut Lang, [Martin] Margiela and [Ann] Demeulemeester.”

Late designer Franco Moschino shocked and titillated the ’80s fashion elite with his whimsical, irreverent parodies of bourgeois finery. Whether emblazoning a sober blazer with smiley faces or embellishing a skirt suit with cutlery, Moschino rendered high style with a hearty wink. He famously said, “If you can’t be elegant, at least be extravagant” — words that, with all due respect to Susan Sontag, epitomize the essence of camp.

Vintage Moschino pants, jackets and other '90s Moschino garments remain so bold and fresh today that even the house's former creative director, Jeremy Scott, drew on the brand's past and the pop culture of the decade for his debut collection in 2014.

Find vintage 90s dresses, skirts, sweaters and other clothing and accessories on 1stDibs — shop Thierry Mugler, Miuccia Prada, Jean Paul Gaultier and more today.

Clothes are part of an individual’s identity. Personal style is a creative form of self-expression that can make a person feel comfortable and confident. From bell-bottoms and oversize tie-dye dresses to denim jackets and leather pants, the fashion world has changed greatly over the years. Still, many looks never go out of style, and certain vintage and designer suits, outfits and ensembles can prove just as timeless.

Think of heavy, warm sweaters: They immediately evoke a specific sensation of cold, winter mornings, hands cupped around a steaming mug of coffee or tea as fog rolls idly across the Irish moors. The design of Aran wool sweaters dates back generations, yet they remain in vogue today.

Then there are iconic fabrics, such as gingham. Originating in Asia, this fabric is known for its overlapping stripes. It was first imported to Europe in the 17th century and then was woven in 18th-century England — Manchester, specifically — where it was given the checked pattern with which it is associated today. It’s an enduringly popular choice for all types of ensembles, from vintage swimwear and rompers to three-piece suits.

Vintage and designer suits, outfits and ensembles convey style, whether dressing up or down.

From understated jumpsuits and vibrant knits to classy jackets and elegant skirts, a range of fashionable garments for any occasion can be found on 1stDibs. Browse clothing by leading designers like Chanel, Versace, Prada and many more today.