seragam batik, http://www.batiksolo.city/. TOKYO (AP) — Although he's behind one of the biggest fashion brands to come out of Japan, Issey Miyake detests being called a fashion designer. Maybe a designer, even a sculptor, but not that frivolous, trend-watching, conspicuous consumption known as fashion.

What he has pursued since he started in the 1970s is more timeless. His down-to-earth clothing is meant to celebrate the human body. And it's anyone's or everyone's body — any race, build, size or age.

"The work of Miyake Issey," at the National Art Center in Tokyo, is a moving journey through his creative mind. The show includes his signature pleats that transform usually crass polyester into chic. In another corner, mannequins are connected by a roll of fabric to highlight his A-POC, or "a piece of cloth," series that began in 1998. A-POC uses computer technology in weaving to create apparel at the same time fabric is being produced.

Pieces of designer Issey Miyake's collection are displayed at the National Art Center in Tokyo, Japan, Tuesday, May 31, 2016. Although he¿s behind one of the biggest fashion brands to come out of Japan, Issey Miyake detests being called a fashion designer. Maybe a designer, even a sculptor, but not of that frivolous, trend-watching, conspicuous consumption known as fashion. What he has pursued since he started in the 1970s is more timeless. His down-to-earth clothing is meant to celebrate the human body. And it¿s anyone¿s or everyone¿s body _ any race, build, size or age. (AP Photo/Shizuo Kambayashi)

Again and again, the exhibit drives home Miyake's basic concept of a single piece of cloth, be it draped, folded, cut or wrapped, but he does not see the exhibit as a "retrospective," says Midori Kitamura, president of Miyake Design Studio and the exhibit's producer.

"He is always forward-looking," Kitamura said, wearing a black Miyake sweater top that can be cut at the collar and sleeves along perforated lines, and a miniskirt that ruffles like a flower at her hip. "Trying to catch up with him is the story of my career."

One stark piece aptly called "colombe," or "dove," is rectangular, white monofilament fiber resembling soft plastic. It doesn't use a single stitch but snaps on in a brushstroke of a swirl.

Miyake has taken inspiration from a variety of cultures and societal motifs, as well as everyday items — plastic, rattan, "washi" paper, jute, horsehair, foil, yarn, batik, indigo dyes, wiring.