A view of Earth captured from space becomes a pair of jeans worn on the body.

A-POC ABLE ISSEY MIYAKE has unveiled TYPE-XVII JAXA project, a collaboration with the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA). Drawing on satellite imagery of Antarctica captured by JAXA's Global Change Observation Mission–Climate satellite, Shikisai (GCOM-C), the brand has translated the landscape into denim through advanced jacquard weaving. Jeans made from the resulting fabric will be released at selected stores in Japan and overseas on November 1, 2026.

© ISSEY MIYAKE INC.
In Tokyo's Roppongi district, 21_21 DESIGN SIGHT is presenting the special exhibition The Possibilities of a Piece of Cloth: TYPE-XVII JAXA project by A-POC ABLE ISSEY MIYAKE from October 21 through November 19. Alongside the development of the jeans, the exhibition introduces experimental textile research applying the geometric structures of origami.

The science of observing Earth from space meets the fashion practice of designing clothing around the human body. As these distinct fields converge, where might ISSEY MIYAKE's enduring philosophy of "a piece of cloth" lead next?

Weaving Antarctica's Ice and Ocean into Denim

The project began with images of Antarctica captured by the climate observation satellite Shikisai. Using multiple wavelengths ranging from near-ultraviolet to thermal infrared, including those beyond human vision, the satellite continuously observes Earth's oceans, snow and ice, and vegetation. Its data contributes to our understanding of climate change and other environmental transformations, while also revealing the remarkable diversity of Earth's appearance from space.

© ISSEY MIYAKE INC.
The image selected for this collaboration depicts Antarctica's vast ice sheet, fractured by lines through which the dark navy waters of the ocean become visible. From a distance, the intricate interplay of white and blue resembles an abstract painting. Yet these forms are the actual contours of a landscape shaped by nature.

© ISSEY MIYAKE INC.
A-POC ABLE ISSEY MIYAKE has translated this satellite image into denim using advanced jacquard weaving techniques. Rather than simply printing the image onto the fabric, the design recreates the forms of ice and ocean through variations in weave density, tonal contrast, and gradation.

The distinctive texture of denim meets the intricate visual detail of satellite imagery, bringing a view of Earth directly onto the surface of a garment.

Straight Jeans: ¥93,500 | © ISSEY MIYAKE INC.
The collection comprises two styles: Straight Jeans (¥93,500) and Wide Jeans (¥99,000). Both are offered in Navy Hued and four sizes: 00, 01, 02, and 03.

Beginning November 1, the jeans will be available at selected stores in Aoyama, Kyoto, and Ginza in Japan, as well as Paris, Milan, New York, and London.

Wide Jeans: ¥99,000 | © ISSEY MIYAKE INC.
What makes these jeans particularly compelling is the connection they establish between satellite observation and an everyday garment. Data originally collected to understand changes in Earth's environment becomes fabric, then clothing that surrounds the body.

The process suggests how fashion might bring scientific information closer to everyday experience.

Creating Form Without Sewing: Textiles Inspired by Origami

The collaboration extends beyond the production of jeans. At 21_21 DESIGN SIGHT, the exhibition also presents experimental textile prototypes inspired by Antarctic satellite imagery and developed with an eye toward the future of clothing.

photo ©FASHION HEADLINE
The material research was conducted with the cooperation of the laboratory of Tomohiro Tachi at the University of Tokyo, which specializes in the geometry and structural principles of origami.

The project applies the logic of origami—transforming flat surfaces into three-dimensional forms through carefully designed folds—to the structure of textiles.

photo ©FASHION HEADLINE
White textiles spread across the exhibition tables display intricate, repeating geometric patterns. Viewed closely, their surfaces reveal more than decorative texture: carefully structured folds create a landscape of three-dimensional ridges and recesses.

The fabrics can be bent, rolled, and extended into different forms. The exhibition also introduces research into connecting identically shaped components with cords to create three-dimensional structures without sewing. By undoing the cords, the components can be separated and subsequently reassembled into different configurations.

photo ©FASHION HEADLINE

The research is concerned with more than introducing new patterns onto a textile surface. By embedding structure within the fabric itself, it explores how a material might retain its form, transform, and be reconfigured as needed.

It is an attempt to reconsider the process of making clothing from the material stage onward.

How Far Can Clothing Transform?

Among the most striking displays are human-shaped figures dressed in white garments with geometric, three-dimensional surfaces. Across their hoods, sleeves, torsos, and legs, overlapping folds create continuous ridges and sculptural contours.

Although the materials are flexible, the garments possess an almost sculptural presence, reshaping the familiar silhouette of the human body.

photo ©FASHION HEADLINE
Each garment incorporates a different structural approach. Variations in how the fabric overlaps and the direction of its folds produce distinct silhouettes.

Conventionally, clothing is made by cutting and sewing pieces of fabric together. In this research, however, the structure of the textile itself plays a fundamental role in generating form.

photo ©FASHION HEADLINE

The potential applications of this material research also extend beyond clothing. By combining flexibility with three-dimensional structure, the textiles could eventually find uses in interior surfaces, architectural materials, and other elements of the environments surrounding the body.

Looking further ahead, the research considers environments such as outer space and polar regions, where human activity is subject to significant limitations.

photo ©FASHION HEADLINE
What kinds of structures can be created where materials and equipment are limited? What possibilities emerge from materials that can change form according to need?

The works on display are research-stage prototypes exploring these questions. With highly constrained environments, including space and polar regions, in mind, the project investigates the potential of textile structures and functions.

The Continuing Relevance of Issey Miyake's "A Piece of Cloth"

Central to understanding this project is the philosophy of "a piece of cloth," which has long informed ISSEY MIYAKE's approach to making clothes.

In 1998, Issey Miyake introduced A-POC, an abbreviation of "A Piece of Cloth." The concept reconsidered conventional garment production and proposed new possibilities for the relationship between fabric and clothing.

Building on that philosophy, A-POC ABLE ISSEY MIYAKE was established in 2021. Led by Yoshiyuki Miyamae, its engineering team explores new approaches to making things through collaborations with specialists and technologies from different disciplines.

photo ©FASHION HEADLINE

The JAXA collaboration reflects this ongoing approach.

One aspect transforms satellite observation data into garments through jacquard weaving. Another applies the geometry of origami to textile structures, opening new questions about the future of clothing.

In both cases, technology serves a purpose beyond decoration. It becomes a means of reconsidering what fabric can be and how garments might be made.

Small paper models and textile samples displayed throughout the exhibition also offer insight into the successive stages of experimentation behind these complex structures.

photo ©FASHION HEADLINE

A flat surface becomes a three-dimensional form, eventually taking shape as clothing around the body. Following this transformation draws attention to the research and ideas that precede a finished garment.

Experiencing the Future of Clothing at 21_21 DESIGN SIGHT

The special exhibition The Possibilities of a Piece of Cloth: TYPE-XVII JAXA project by A-POC ABLE ISSEY MIYAKE, currently on view at Gallery 3 of 21_21 DESIGN SIGHT, presents the collaboration through both finished garments and experimental material research.

photo ©FASHION HEADLINE
Jeans derived from satellite imagery of Antarctica are displayed alongside white textile prototypes with geometric structures.

The landscape captured by a satellite is brought closer to the body through weaving. Meanwhile, research into textile structures expands the discussion beyond garments toward the broader environments in which people live.

Encountering both approaches within the same exhibition reveals the project's ambition to fundamentally reconsider clothing at the intersection of science and design.

photo ©FASHION HEADLINE

The exhibition continues through November 19, with free admission.

A related exhibition, TYPE-XVII JAXA project, will also take place from November 1 through December 30 at A-POC SPACE, a newly established gallery within A-POC ABLE ISSEY MIYAKE / AOYAMA in Minami-Aoyama, Tokyo.

A pair of jeans born from the science of observing Earth. New textile structures developed by imagining the environments of the future.

Through its collaboration with JAXA, A-POC ABLE ISSEY MIYAKE invites us to reconsider the possibilities of "a piece of cloth" from the expansive perspective of our planet itself.