Souta Yamaguchi "Style & Words, the Possibility of Shared Senses"

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In our special feature "Words & Images: Data on Fashion," brought to you in collaboration with fashion researcher and associate professor of design at Kyoto Seika University, Hiroshi Ashida, we are pleased to welcome fashion director Souta Yamaguchi. Ashida sat down with Yamaguchi for an interview about the relationship between styling and language.

We'll be discussing the thought process behind combining elements in styling, and the possibility of rationalizing this process to share it with others.

PROFILE

Souta Yamaguchi

Born in 1982 in Tokoname, Aichi. Graduated from Bunka Fashion College (recipient of the 22nd Principal's Award).
Started working as a stylist and director for Mikiri Hasshin in 2006. Opened the next-generation select shop "Pyarco" in Shibuya PARCO in 2012. Took on the creative direction for KANSAI YAMAMOTO in 2015. In 2021, was in charge of the direction and curation for the Kenzo Takada retrospective. As a fashion director, he works with various brands on planning exhibitions and events.

Perceiving Clothes as a Stylist

Separating philosophy and surface

AshidaI believe that, like product design and architecture, fashion design also needs to be executed logically. To do that, we need to verbalize and decompose the elements of clothing.

This time, I want to ask how Yamaguchi perceives clothes. You are a stylist and a director who plans products. I want to hear how you look at clothes when you put together a styling or plan a product as a director.

YamaguchiThis is purely my personal opinion, but first of all, I focus on the philosophy and thoughts behind a piece of clothing, the concept that lies deep within it. Then, I do not miss how these philosophies and thoughts are represented in the superficial aspects like material, color, and details. However, when I put together a styling, I separate the ideological aspect in the clothes and the surface aspects. Likewise, I separate the inherent aspect of the person wearing the clothes like their lifestyle and their story from their appearance. I see it as a puzzle where these elements are combined.