--What kind of role do you want fashion to play in society?

I want it to have a higher cultural status, rather than just being in the spotlight for its superficial aspects. Fashion is often seen as vulgar, and those who say they work in fashion or have it as their theme are often seen as lacking purity. It is perceived as a symbolic capitalist world of mass consumption and mass production. While that aspect certainly exists, it is superficial and not the essence. I feel that this capitalist aspect is recognized, while other aspects of fashion are not understood. I also feel this in the educational sphere; there are no places in Japan where you can study fashion academically. The lack of an academic space for design led me to start "coconogacco." When I think about fashion, there is a lot I want to communicate, and as part of that, I thought about how to communicate fashion through education and what is necessary for creation, which led me to "coconogacco."

--How do you feel about being a designer who also teaches?

It's more like spreading the word, making friends, or finding people who empathize and say, "That's right." I'm doing this with the hope that more people will empathize with me. I really feel like I've been able to work together and made more friends, so I think that's my greatest asset (laughs). I haven't made any money, but my network has expanded, and I feel like we're all supporting each other. Our graduates have become designers, started sewing, opened embroidery factories, coordinated fabric stores, and become writers, among many others. This has created networks and connections through work. I'm able to work in a different way than before, and it feels like the wheels are starting to turn.

--Isn't it difficult to get people who think that fashion is not just about convenience, like being able to wear it or being warm, to understand that clothing expresses one's own existence?

That's true. I haven't found the answer either, and I'm struggling with it. For example, I think there are ways of expression, like the films of director Hayao Miyazaki, where works can influence the values of many people over a long period of time. I wonder if fashion can have a different kind of reach, a different way of taking root culturally. I think the work I'm currently doing with "Written Afterwards" is close to exploring that.

--In recent years, I've heard a lot of questions about the fashion industry's consumption system, where new products are released each season and then marked down. Is it possible for fashion to have the same permanence as art?

I think fashion can have artistic expression, but I also feel reluctant to call it art. With the recent "Zetsumei" exhibition, I tried to show the differences between art and fashion. I wanted to express that fashion has things that art doesn't have, things that it hasn't yet been able to accept. I think I was able to express that much. But that doesn't mean fashion isn't art. The word "gei" (art) is written with the characters for "gei" (art) and "jutsu" (art), so I think fashion has many artistic elements. I hope that fashion, like art, can preserve a certain kind of value and share cultural value.

--What do you want to do for the future?

In the near future, I'd like to propose clothes that fit into reality. This is my personal goal. I believe that how to express wearable woven fabric clothing is what people want to see most in fashion. I think it's very important to tackle this challenge head-on. In my previous work, I've deliberately strayed from that style, so I want to take on this challenge little by little, without rushing. However, my biggest goal is to convey the wonder of fashion. This is what I feel most comfortable with.

--Here's my last question. What does "fashion" mean to you, Yamagata?

I see fashion as a living organism. A fluid existence, like a soul or a heart. Like life, it lives and dies, and it changes shape and is reborn. I think it's very raw and human. That's why I love fashion, not logic.

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