Philosopher Washida Seiichi was born on September 2, 1949, in Kyoto Prefecture.

He withdrew from the doctoral program at the Graduate School of Letters, Kyoto University, after completing his coursework. He then served as a lecturer and assistant professor at Kansai University before becoming a professor in 1988. In 1992, he became dean of the Graduate School of Letters, Osaka University, and served as its president in 2007. He retired from his position as president of Osaka University in 2011 and became a professor emeritus. He is currently a professor in the Department of Philosophy, Faculty of Letters, Otani University.

He specializes in phenomenology and theories of the body, and his research focuses on fashion. In 1987, he was asked by the fashion magazine Marie Claire to write a serial column, which prompted him to begin writing about fashion. He has written numerous books on fashion and philosophy, and his 1989 works "Dispersed Reason" and "The Labyrinth of Fashion" won the Suntory Prize for Social Sciences and Humanities.

He is close friends with fashion designers Issey Miyake, Yohji Yamamoto, Hiroko Koshino, and Rei Kawakubo, and often talks about their creations in his books.