TYPE-U

How to make clothes that gently support your feelings.

"TYPE-U" is a series that features a unique "shape memory material" and is known for its extremely comfortable shirt-like jackets.

Shape-memory means, for example, when you roll up the sleeves, the fabric will keep that shape. The folds won’t gradually unroll and sag down. “To roll up one’s sleeves” is an expression that conveys the determination or frame of mind to buckle down and get working. “TYPE-U” embodies that feeling. You might even say that it possesses the function of providing emotional support to the wearer. Of course, once the sleeves are unrolled and gently brushed down by hand, they go back to their original form without any wrinkles.

Tracing back the ideas that led to “TYPE-U,” we end up at one of the key concepts of A-POC, “for the wearer to participate and enjoy being in the final stage of design.” But of course it was a combination of concrete technology and ideas that gave birth to the functions of shape-memory. The complex, yet smooth movements of the jacquard loom and polyester yarn featured in the “TYPE-U” movie clearly show how this combination turned out.

The single piece of cloth created in this way has all the parts of the garment already woven in and is then cut out with scissors. The texture of the fabric on the screen is light and airy. And with the relaxed fit around the shoulders and body, a jacket without any kind of rigidity is born. Needless to say, the sleeves and lapel can be shaped freely by the wearer. It fits the body as if it has been worn for many years. It is a reflection of A-POC ABLE ISSEY MIYAKE’s design that pursues the concept of “participation by the wearer.”

Text: SETA SHO