Issey Miyake was one of the most innovative designers of the late twentieth and early twenty first centuries. He was the first of a wave of Japanese designers showing in Paris who came to represent the best in avant-garde fashion in the 1970s and 1980s.

The Plastic Body was the first in a series of experimental and sculptural garments created by Miyake in the early 1980s. These pieces explored the relationship between clothing and the body and often utilised innovative or unusual materials. They were shown together by Miyake in his Bodyworks exhibition, which toured museums and galleries between 1983 and 1985, and the plastic bustier was a prominent design in the show, featured in multiple colours.

In this piece Miyake subverted the idea of clothing as a form of concealment, instead revealing and celebrating the female body. The bustier was created by Miyake in collaboration with the mannequin manufacture Nanasai and is moulded, formed from glass fibres infused with polyester resin. The design details the contours of the female form including the bust, torso and navel and morphs into a peplum skirt at the base. It has no straps or fixtures but is worn like a cuff.