This year, Issey Miyake invited the world-renowned typographer Philippe Apeloig to reinvent the visuals of his iconic fragrances. Letters, symbols and vibrant colours have always played a key part in Issey Miyake’e aesthetic approach.

Original, specifically created graphic charters, logos and fonts drive the identity of each of his brands and projects, often conceived in collaboration with prominent graphic designers like Taku Satoh. Issey Miyake has fostered  many collaborations throughout the years with artists whose vision and craft embody his philosophy: “Making things. If I stay with myself, I repeat a story that I know already” he says.

L’Eau d’Issey and L’Eau d’Issey pour Homme

The year 2017, is the year Issey Miyake Perfumes celebrates the power of graphic design by inviting Philippe Apeloig, “the typographer who makes letters dance.” Apeloig is synonymous to success- his works include, creating posters, visual identities and logos for the Orient Express, as well as the Direction of Musées des France and the upcoming Yves Saint Laurent Museum in Morocco, not to mention his motion graphics work for the New York Times and British magazine; Wallpaper.

Using the iconic bottles of L’Eau d’Issey and L’Eau d’Issey pour Homme as a springboard, the French graphic designer has devised a new bespoke typeface for the brand.

“Typography is the backbone of the graphic development we created for the  visual identity of Issey Miyake Pafums,” Apeloig explains. “It is a form of musical composition or even a choreography. We kept  just one element, the outline of the bottles, to develop a whole graphic universe.”

Philippe Apeloig, “the typographer who makes letters dance.” 

This striking font will “dress up” the fragrances in a series of seasonal offerings throughout 2017, with special decors designed  for Valentine’s Day, Father and Mother’s Days, Summer Editions and Christmas gift coffrets.

Crowning this creative partnership, Philippe Apeloig brings his typeface to life in three animated short clips.  Fascinated  by contemporary dance, the typographer creates movements for his letters, based on the three variations  he created or spring, summer and Christmas. In these poetic videos, the names of the scents become bold, playful forms expressing the power and fluidity of Issey Miyake’s iconic fragrances.