ISSEY MIYAKE Explores the Potential of the “Paper Log” in New Exhibition With Ensamble Studio

ISSEY MIYAKE will present “The Paper Log: Shell and Core, An ISSEY MIYAKE Project in Collaboration with Ensamble Studio” at 21_21 DESIGN SIGHT Gallery 3 in Tokyo from August 13 through September 13, 2026.

Developed with Spanish architecture practice Ensamble Studio, the exhibition focuses on the “Paper Log,” a byproduct created through ISSEY MIYAKE’s original garment-pleating process. Bringing together the perspectives of fashion and architecture, the project investigates the material’s embedded memory and its potential to assume new forms and functions.

Summary

The Paper Log Retains the Memory of Pleating

The project was conceived by Satoshi Kondo, one of the design directors at MIYAKE DESIGN STUDIO, and subsequently developed by the ISSEY MIYAKE project team in collaboration with Ensamble Studio.

The Paper Log is a compressed roll of wafer-thin paper sheets used in ISSEY MIYAKE’s original garment-pleating process. Unlike conventional methods that cut and sew fabric after it has been pleated, ISSEY MIYAKE’s technique applies pleats after the fabric has already been cut and sewn into the shape of a garment.

During the process, the fabric is sandwiched between sheets of paper that protect it as it passes through the pleating machine. Once the garment is removed, the remaining paper is compressed to make transport, disposal and recycling more efficient, and its log-like shape inspired the name “Paper Log.”

The circular marbling visible across its surface recalls the growth rings of a tree, preserving traces of time, pressure, rhythm and form from the pleating process. Like a conventional log, the material can be carved, cut, peeled or unrolled. Its absorbency also allows it to be treated with solutions and finishing agents that alter its texture and material properties.

Kondo initially explored its potential by cutting Paper Logs crosswise to create stools. The pieces were later used as seating and as part of the installation for the ISSEY MIYAKE Spring/Summer 2025 collection presentation in Paris. As the research developed, the project expanded beyond the in-house team to include Ensamble Studio.

“The Paper Log project is about finding value by looking at what was considered secondary or peripheral through new perspectives. By presenting the research and development we have done, we hope to inspire further interest and discussions from different creative disciplines. Through this project, reappropriating the byproduct of the pleating process, we aim to create something beyond recycling, for the ease and poetry of everyday life, as Miyake intended when he first created PLEATS PLEASE ISSEY MIYAKE,” Kondo said.

Two Contrasting Approaches: “Shell” and “Core”

The installation brings together two series created through contrasting yet complementary approaches: “Shell” by Ensamble Studio and “Core” by the ISSEY MIYAKE project team.

“Shell” comprises a series of “objects of memory” created with sheets peeled away from the Paper Log. The paper is freely sculpted or wrapped around existing objects before being treated with hardening agents. This process fixes each pleat, wrinkle and crease in place, revealing the physical memory embedded in the material.

“Core,” meanwhile, consists of furniture prototypes, including stools, chairs and tables. The project team experimented with processes such as soaking the Paper Log in wax, applying glue and tying the material into bundles to investigate its structural and expressive qualities.

The two series establish a dialogue between opposing characteristics, including the ephemeral and the concrete and the delicate and the robust, while complementing each other. A documentary recording the production process and its background by Ensamble Studio and the ISSEY MIYAKE project team will also be presented at the exhibition.

Reconfigured for Its First Public Presentation in Japan

The project was first unveiled during Milan Design Week in April 2026. The upcoming Tokyo exhibition marks the first public presentation of the works in Japan.

While retaining the central dialogue established by the Milan installation, the Tokyo edition introduces newly designed display fixtures and positions the works in closer proximity. The reconfigured presentation is intended to accentuate the distinct textures of each piece while revealing the relationship between “Shell” and “Core” from a renewed perspective.

Founded in 2000, Ensamble Studio is a cross-functional architectural practice led by Antón García-Abril and Débora Mesa. Operating at the intersection of art and science, the studio approaches its practice as a laboratory for research and prototyping, integrating design and construction through experiments involving materials, typologies and fabrication methods.

By focusing on the traces of pressure, time and form held within a material once considered a byproduct, the exhibition proposes a broader understanding of reuse. Rather than erasing the Paper Log’s previous function, the project allows that history to evolve into new forms, scales and purposes, creating a shared territory between fashion and architecture.

Exhibition Information

Exhibition: The Paper Log: Shell and Core, An ISSEY MIYAKE Project in Collaboration with Ensamble Studio
Dates: August 13 to September 13, 2026
Venue: 21_21 DESIGN SIGHT Gallery 3
Address: Midtown Garden, Tokyo Midtown, 9-7-6 Akasaka, Minato-ku, Tokyo, Japan

© ISSEY MIYAKE INC. / Ensamble Studio

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