Takashi Murakami’s work has been bellied by an idea of merging "high" and "low” art. A classically trained artist, who early on found himself fed up with the politics and constraints of the Japanese fine-art world, his multi-medium works capture the colorful and at times graphic characteristics of anime and manga visuals. He’s far from the first artist to recontextualize low-culture - Andy Warhol, who he is oft compared to, similarly used low-commercial art as the subject of his paintings and photographs. Murakami’s work is guided by a unifying theory titled “Superflat,” a mediation on both art and commerce. The word serves as a double-entendre; it is an expression that is not simply the 2-D style of art Japan has long been famous for, but a more incendiary take on the flattening of culture. Murakami postulated that in Japan there was no longer any difference between high and low art, a philosophy which has made his forays out of galleries and into clothing boutiques a natural progression, working with Louis Vuitton, Issey Miyake, and operating his own clothing line.

His collaboration with the Issey Miyake label highlighted some of his most famous works, including “The Lonesome Cowboy,” “Jellyfish Eyes,” and recurring motifs such as Mr. Dobbs, and the mushrooms seen here. Several new dye colors were concocted for the collaboration, and the pieces were styled reversed on the runway, with the outerwear and trousers being worn inside out.

Condition: 9/10. No significant flaws.

Tagged size: O/S (fits M)

Shoulder: 20in

Pit to pit: 22.5in

Length: 38.5in

Sleeve: 25in