Mariko Asabuki "Words to Describe Clothes, the Unique Qualities of Fashion"

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In a special feature presented with fashion researcher and Associate Professor of the Faculty of Design at Kyoto Seika University, Hiroshi Ashida, we delve into "Words & Images: Data Surrounding Fashion." This time, we welcomed novelist Mariko Asabuki and conducted an interview in the form of a dialogue with Ashida about the relationship between styling and words.

What is the "fashion" depicted in novels, and what are the words used therein? To explore words and images in fashion, we delve into the expressions within a novel.

PROFILE

Mariko Asabuki

Born in 1984. Completed a doctoral program in Classical Kabuki at Keio University. Debuted in 2009 with "流跡". In 2010, she won the DUMAgo Literary Award for the same work. In 2011, she won the 144th Akutagawa Prize for "きことわ." In 2013, she announced her co-created work "いりくちでくち" with playwright Norimizu Ameya. In 2018, she published her first full-length novel, "TIMELESS". She has written essay collections such as "抽斗のなかの海" and "だいちょうことばめぐり" (photographs by Hanayo).

PROFILE

Hiroshi Ashida

Born in 1978. Left after his doctoral program in Graduate School of Human and Environmental Studies at Kyoto University. He served as an associate curator at the Kyoto Fashion Culture Research Fund and is currently an Associate Professor/Sub-dean of the Faculty of Design at Kyoto Seika University. His specialty is fashion theory. His books include "言葉と衣服" (Adachi Press, 2021). He translated Agnès Rocamora & Anneke Smelik's "ファッションと哲学" (Film Arts, 2018), among others. He is also a member of the editorial board of the fashion critic magazine "vanitas" (Adachi Press) and a member of the shop "コトバトフク".

Clothes for Humans

Humans Exist by Wearing Designed Things

AshidaI myself have been troubled by the ambiguity of fashion terminology. When I was writing my master's thesis, I felt uncomfortable with the ambiguity of the terms 'fashion' and 'mode', and tried to define them in some way (ultimately I couldn't). Even in collection reviews, expressions like 'it was an elegant collection' are used, but what is elegance to begin with? Is it elegant if the fabric is long and flowing? I wrote "言葉と衣服" because I think it's necessary to define words in order to establish communication.