Everything you need to know about the Issey Miyake Sample Sale in New York, 2026! Plus, what we bought with prices.
A couple of weeks ago, we heard through Arlettie (the new-to-New York, Parisian sample sale company), that an Issey Miyake sample sale would soon be taking place. As fans of the brand and devotees to the show in Paris (always one of our favorites) this was big news. At least to our knowledge, there’s never been a large scale Issey Miyake sample sale in New York until now.
What we love about Issey Miyake: the brand celebrates deliciously weird shapes, embraces bold color and isn’t afraid to be unconventional. The clothes are unassumingly comfortable and flattering for a variety of body types, like no other. In short: the sample sale would have to be good.
We arrived around 9:30 AM, with about 110 people in front of us (we know this because a guy advertising line sitters was counting as he walked by us!). Arlettie advertised the sample sale as private but this is not true: on social media, it’s being promoted to the public. So expect long lines. We waited about an hour and a half and only started shopping around 11 AM, after checking in and going through mandatory coat check. Really not great, but also not the worst thing in the world.
The space is deceptively small, packed very full of an array of inventory from almost all of the different Issey Miyake collections and diffusion lines: runway mainline, Pleats Please, Homme Plissé, me ISSEY MIYAKE, 132 5. ISSEY MIYAKE, GOOD GOODS ISSEY MIYAKE, A-POC ABLE ISSEY MIYAKE and HaaT. Everything is priced at 75% off the normal retail price, except for Issey Miyake women’s runway mainline, which is all priced at 80% off retail.
Aside from some of the more extreme runway pieces, almost everything was priced under $300, with lots of pieces ringing up just over $100 from the “me” line. Some of the best finds, for us, were from the me ISSEY MIYAKE line, which offers up really comfortable pants and sweaters with unique textile manipulations in bold lilac, bright fuchsia and seaweed green hues. We fell in love with a pair of purple velvet flocked harem pants for $115. Our other favorite picks were from the Pleats Please line. Think: bouncy pleated skirts and dresses printed with heart-stoppingly beautiful thermal images of ice cream dishes or abstract painterly motifs for around $200 and up. Lastly, the accessories are worth a browse. We also bought a limited edition Bao Bao fruits tote and a rare necklace that reminded us of Alexander Calder’s mobiles.
Arlettie has a few private fitting rooms with mirrors, with is a rare in sample sale culture and also a necessity when shopping a brand like Issey Miyake. What makes the brand’s clothing so beautiful is the way it moves when it’s on. It’s impossible to experience the look and feel just seeing it on a hanger. People were doing big rounds of trying things on and putting lots back, so it’s worth circling around a few times to see what new things end up on the racks.
We love a sample sale–but we’re also extremely particular about which ones we shop. We’d highly recommend this one, for people who understand and love the Miyake brand. Issey Miyake’s pieces aren’t that excessively easy to find, especially the diffusion lines; and when pieces do get discounted, they usually aren’t this low. We did a quick search for everything we bought and haven’t been able to find it anywhere else for prices even close to what we paid.
You’re not allowed to take any photos or videos inside, and Arlettie makes you put your phone inside a locked plastic case that you can carry with you while you shop. Below, some photos (taken inside our home) of a few of the pieces we chose.
The Issey Miyake New York sample sale runs through March 28, 2026 and is open daily from 10 AM – 7 PM at 45 W 25th St.
All images © Sudden Chic.
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