In this exclusive interview with Tatler Hong Kong, Japanese designer Tae Ashida talks about her father’s lasting legacy while forging her own style, as well as her innovative new collection from Tokyo Fashion Week 2021
Carrying the name Ashida is not easy but Japanese fashion designer, Tae Ashida is forging a name for herself. Her father, Jun Ashida was one of the most respectable fashion designers in Japan. He served as a personal designer for Empress Michiko, designed for royalty, sports teams and notable companies. After his death, Tae took on the reins of his eponymous brand as creative director while helming her own Tae Ashida line.
While continuing her father’s legacy, Tae also reinterpreted the fashion brand in her own image. She continues to find her own path as she celebrates her 30th anniversary as a designer this year. For Tokyo Fashion Week 2021, she presented her 2022 Spring Summer collection in an unprecedented way—combining state-of-the-art technology through volumetric video technology while showcasing the brand’s traditional roots of elegance and practicality.
In this exclusive interview, Tae Ashida chats with Tatler Hong Kong about paying homage to her father’s legacy, creating her own unique style and her new innovative collection from Tokyo Fashion Week that combines modernity and tradition.
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You helm both your father’s eponymous brand, Jun Ashida and your brand of the same name, how do you separate the two?
When I create [designs for] my father’s brand, Jun Ashida, I’m the creative director so I'm more objective. When I create [for Jun Ashida], the most important point is passing [tradition] down the line, what to preserve or what to renew. It’s like a balance between tradition and innovation and I’m always concentrated on those issues.
Talking about your father, who was a notable fashion designer, what were some of the things you learned from him? Did he give you any advice?
I’ve learned everything from him, of course, but I kind of refused to take his advice when I create. Design is personal and at the same time, you don’t know exactly where you want to land, in a way, so I was trying to find my way of creation. When I refused his advice, he always complained, “why you don't listen to me,” that kind of thing. But he always offered me advice especially after seeing my fashion shows.
Coming from a family who worked in the fashion industry, did you know that you would eventually work in fashion too?
Actually, I always knew but I don’t remember when I decided on becoming a fashion designer. I was so small but this situation [of having family members working in the fashion industry] eventually made me become a fashion designer. It’s kind of strange that everybody thought that I’ll be a fashion designer in the future—everyone around me, like my friends and teachers, and, of course, my parents including me, knew. I always like creating and drawing pictures, and I liked fashion and everything about it so that’s what brought me into this world.
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