Wedding dress designer Eri Matsui, who questions the very definition of "beauty," published her collection of works, "Sensing Garment," on April 30th. The book features illustrated illustrations and texts of the clothes Matsui has created in collaboration with researchers, as well as her unique fashion philosophy, revealing her talent as an artist rather than a designer. The book, which took six years to complete, is based on Matsui's passion and love for design, as well as a message for the younger generation who will lead the future. Seeing her dedication to "beauty" and the process she went through to create the perfect dress, I was in awe of Matsui's inquisitiveness. Her questioning and unravelling of even the most obvious things is reminiscent of a designer, researcher, and craftsman. What is it that drives Matsui so much? For me, the driving force behind creating clothes is the image of a woman radiating in a wedding dress. The elation a woman feels when her clothes fit perfectly transforms the atmosphere, and even the dress begins to take on a sensual life. These are "sensory clothes," clothes that allow her to become "herself" the moment she discovers herself. The reason why clothes are so irreplaceable to women is because they shape the woman herself. Creating clothes with the sole aim of bringing smiles to women's faces brings many questions to mind. When something intrigues me, I can't help but feel restless. It's natural for me to explore because I want to know. It's like scratching an itch (laughs).

-- Reading this book, even though I'm not particularly good at science and math, I feel like I've discovered a new interpretation of beauty and discovered the joy of looking at clothes from a different perspective. I wasn't good at math myself. I majored in art in high school and boycotted math classes (laughs). As I mentioned earlier, after my shocking encounter with science and math, I began to see the world differently. Discovering the thrill of creating through thought, I became even more enthusiastic about it. I would be happy if anyone who picks up and reads this book finds it interesting and raises questions, just as I did.

--Please tell us how you came to publish this collection.

An editor from Kousakusha, who came to see my fashion show, contacted me. From there, my staff and I spent about a year finalizing the structure. After that, we paid attention to the details, like the design and editing, and it ended up taking five years to publish.

--This collection, which took six years to complete, feels like a permanent keepsake edition. Some pages offer detailed explanations, such as clothing patterns as flattened diagrams and my unique clothing design theory. What do you want to communicate through this book?

I'm particularly interested in younger readers. The pages, filled with detailed hand-drawn diagrams and tiny text, were designed to convey the fundamentals of clothing creation. This book is a guide to creating clothes that are not ready-to-wear, but rather form-fitting like haute couture or wedding dresses—clothing made for a single woman—and how that knowledge can be applied to creating ready-to-wear clothing. I previously served as a professor by appointment at Tokyo Zokei University, and I truly believe the saying, "teaching is learning." While the methods described in textbooks are important, I also want to convey the foundations, ways of thinking, and ways of perceiving the female body. Some pages have become too detailed and the text is small (laughs), but I hope it will be of some use to those studying fashion, design, or manufacturing. I also wanted to convey that overwhelming aesthetic beauty is born when thought and feeling intertwine. (I hope people don't feel ashamed to think like I did in the past.)

--Finally, could you tell us a little about any collaborative projects you are currently working on?

We are discussing with professors from the fields of graphic design, art, video, digital, and engineering that we would like to create clothing that resembles a living organism. The details are still a secret, but I am excited to be working on it myself. Please look forward to the announcement!

What is the "universality of beauty" shown by fashion and science? Wedding dress designer Matsui Eri -- Return to 1/2 [INTERVIEW].

ELIE INOUE