SEASONVOICE 마루코 히라에: 촉감으로 남는 것들에 대하여

SEASONVOICE Maruko Hirae: On What Remains Through Touch

SEASONVOICE Maruko Hirae: 触感として残るものについて

First, could you introduce what kind of space SEASONVOICE is?
We would also love to hear about what led you to create this space, as well as the atmosphere and direction you consider most important.

SEASONVOICE (hereafter SEASON) is a very small select shop with a physical storefront in Omotesando, Tokyo.

I handle everything myself—from direction and buying to management—so it is an independent shop, but at the same time, it could also be described as a collaborative space, where creators who have gathered in Tokyo from across Japan and around the world are involved with the shop in many different ways.

Although we mainly deal with fashion items, our relatively weak sense of seasonality (despite the name “SEASON,” which makes me laugh) has gradually become a defining characteristic in a positive way.

The things gathered here are not items whose value fluctuates with the season, but rather clothes that can be worn across multiple seasons depending on how they are styled—pieces you can love with the same feeling this winter and next winter as well. Of course, we do not have seasonal sales. Very few of the brands we carry release collections according to the usual SS/AW cycle. I believe that both the creators who make up the shop and the people who enjoy it can each have their own “season.” I hope this can be a place where things circulate at one’s own rhythm, and where connections can be enjoyed when those rhythms happen to overlap.

The motivation for creating this place came from the closing of a select shop called Lamp harajuku. Lamp harajuku was a shop that had been loved in Harajuku for 21 years.

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Through the keyword “SHEROS1,” I moved to Tokyo immediately after graduating from university, and was able to work there for just three years, until it closed in 2022. I believe I faced that time sincerely, so while I carry as many difficult feelings as happy ones, there is no doubt that it was a place that left me with an irreplaceable sensibility inside myself.

It was a three-story street-level shop facing a small alley, and I truly believe the charm of that space was unlike anything else. Surrounded by the creations on display and the people who happened to be there, layers of air, light and shadow, plants, and even music overlapped, forming a daily life made up of fleeting moments that changed every second. Although the space was thoroughly directed, the individuality within it was never organized or unified—it remained scattered, just as it was. Coexisting with seasons and time beyond human control was also part of the mysterious balance that defined that place.

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Preparing a place where beloved things could gather, meeting many customers at their own timing, having conversations, and searching together for clothes that suited them or something that would make them feel happy—that role was something I truly loved. Even now, I think it is the happiest work for me. Through spending time and learning there, I came to value the way I look at the beauty of everyday life.

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When Lamp harajuku closed, I purchased one of the fixtures that had stood at the center of the space. It is the box-shaped fixture that now sits at the center of SEASON. SEASON is a very small space, and it is an entirely different shop from Lamp harajuku, but the memory of Lamp harajuku that lives within me is something I continue to cherish deeply.

What kinds of “words” or “attitudes” do you feel are commonly present in the brands and objects curated by SEASONVOICE?
We would love to hear about the “mindset” or “stance” that comes across even before the design itself.

I think there is an attitude that does not flatter larger powers, while at the same time holding a soft and gentle gaze—one that seems quietly delighted, almost thrilled—toward the small presences hidden throughout everyday life.

It feels as though people who find comfort in that kind of mindset are drawn to one another, gathering here naturally, even without exchanging many words.

The brands carried by SEASONVOICE strongly convey a sense of “an aesthetics of everyday life” and of being “independent makers.”
When selecting artists or designers, what points do you pay the most attention to?

To be honest, this might not make me a very good buyer, but I don’t often actively seek out new brands to increase what I carry. There are already so many wonderful shops in Tokyo and around the world, and today it’s easy to purchase from or support brands directly, so I think carefully about the meaning of increasing suppliers. I never start carrying something simply because it is cute; it begins only when I find values or stories within a creation that I want to share through SEASON.

Personally, I’m also drawn to and feel comfortable with the kind of mindset I mentioned in response to the second question, and sometimes that attraction leads me to genuinely like the creator as a person.

The “aesthetics of everyday life” you mentioned feels closely connected to “a gaze toward the small presences hidden throughout daily life.”
And being an “independent maker” seems to share the same spirit of “not flattering larger powers.”

When you look at fashion or objects for everyday life, is there a standard by which you feel, “this is something that will remain over time”?
We would love to hear your sense of “durability” that differs from fleeting trends.

It’s a very difficult question, but I think it comes down to how far something has been pursued without compromise at the moment it is created. There are visible forms of dedication and invisible ones, and of course many variations, but each kind of dedication finds its own group of people who resonate with it. When something has been pursued relentlessly to the very end, it seems to hold onto the hearts of those who resonate with it, continuing to attract new people or to be passed on, allowing its value to endure for a longer time.

Running a shop means constantly encountering the work of many creators, and when I come across an intense level of commitment, I feel a sense of rediscovering my love—thinking, “This really is the best.” On the other hand, when there is a point where compromise is felt, I believe that it is often those who wish to continue resonating with the value of the work who notice it most clearly. Even if one tries to stay close to it for as long as possible, it seems that, in the end, people drift away from that very point of compromise.

In an era where fandom-driven consumption and rapidly shifting trends are the norm,
what unique perspectives or roles do you feel an editorial shop can offer?

An artist named mepi, who has been connected to SEASON since the project first began, once sent me a newspaper article, saying that Ryuichi Sakamoto’s description of YMO2 as an “international conference” felt very much like SEASON, and that he liked it.

As I’ve built the shop through collaborations with many people, I’ve always been conscious of maintaining a horizontal structure. Not a community that moves as a group toward the same destination, but one where each person walks their own path, occasionally overlapping, and then continuing on separate routes again. This is how I see everyone involved—whether creators, staff, or customers. Knowing that mepi felt the same way made me very happy, and it’s a sensibility I still cherish deeply.

The creators we collaborate with are close to one another, yet each remains independent, and the new values they have cultivated by spreading their wings in various places seem to be gathering here in an ongoing, living process. That, too, feels very meaningful to me.

When I speak with customers and when I speak with creators, I do so with the same sensibility. If SEASON can be a place where those who gather here share values horizontally and learn from one another, then I feel that this is the role SEASON can fulfill as a select shop.

In a time when online and offline coexist, how does SEASONVOICE reinterpret “place” and “spatial experience”?
If you see the editorial shop as a cultural platform in any way, please tell us more.

For example, I think there is a certain sense of who Minori really is that only people who have experienced her customer service in person at SEASON can know.

By looking at what is shared online, we often feel as though we understand many things, but in reality—whether for better or worse—I believe that only those who experience something offline can know the truth. I truly love that sense of exclusivity. This applies to people, and to objects as well: there are so many kinds of charm and joy in the world that can only be conveyed offline. And the more online spaces accelerate, the more offline spaces become luxurious and special.

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The items at SEASONVOICE seem to hold a delicate balance between “function” and “personal taste.”
What does a “good balance” mean to you?

I’ve often been told that I have a poor sense of balance, so to be honest, I don’t have much confidence in my idea of what a “good balance” is…
That said, when I choose what to wear myself, or when I select items at SEASON to propose to customers, there is certainly a balance I’m consciously aware of. I’m still searching for what a “good balance” truly is, but I try to adjust the degree between “universal goodness” and “goodness that belongs only to me.”

There is a brand called sula, and it is an irreplaceable presence—both for me personally and for the overall balance of SEASON.

As you continue running SEASONVOICE, have there been moments when you felt your own tastes or sensibilities had changed?
Where do you think that change came from?

I haven’t yet felt that what I love has changed. I still wear the same clothes for years, and I continue to love the art I’ve collected with a surprisingly consistent feeling. However, there are aspects of myself that I do feel have changed.

Even before starting SEASON, I had a personal motto: “don’t flatter, don’t expect, don’t cling.” In the past, that felt more like a goal, so there were times when I would expect something and end up feeling disappointed. But as I’ve continued running SEASON, those emotional ups and downs have gradually disappeared.

I think this is because running the shop—starting alone, with no money and no experience—was incredibly difficult. Although many people offer their support, the full responsibility for the shop rests with me, which realistically means I cannot expect anything from others, and that I am the only one who can control everything. Living at that edge, I feel my personality adapted and changed in response.

Saying that I don’t expect anything might sound cold to some people, but if I put it as having learned “to know what is enough,” it might sound a little more positive.

Even in a time when opportunities to touch and choose have decreased, SEASONVOICE seems to place great importance on “tactility.”
What does the “language of touch” mean to you?

Just like plants, I believe nothing can remain in the same state forever—everything changes. And within those changes, there exists another kind of beauty. Perhaps the language that allows us to understand that is what I would call the “language of touch.”

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If we think of plants: the soft moment just before a bud opens, the moment when a flower is in full bloom, and the moment when it withers and its petals begin to change color. The stage most often described as beautiful is probably when the flower is in full bloom, but in truth, the changes before and after that moment also hold a beauty that cannot be ranked or compared. Still, this is not something easily noticed on the surface, nor something that can be fully understood through words. It is by touching and choosing that we can come to understand this “other” beauty through our bodies.

There is a phrase shared by someone I deeply respect, Etsuko Yano3, that I often return to:

“To refine one’s sensibility is not only about going to see special artists or visiting museums. It is about discovering beauty in daily events, everyday work, and ordinary scenery. This does not consist solely of pleasant experiences—sadness and pain are sometimes part of it—but through such experiences seeping into the body, one’s sensibility is gradually shaped.”

I reread these words often.

Finding beauty in the everyday things we touch each day is, to me, exactly the act of deciphering the “language of touch.”

As someone who has looked at fashion for a long time, you may feel both “fatigue” and “excitement.”
If there has been a recent moment that truly moved you, could you share it with us?

I truly love the role of searching together for clothes that suit someone, or for something that makes them feel happy. So when someone who visits SEASON finds something that makes them think, “I want this,” when they try it on and say, “It’s so cute,” when I wrap it up and hand it to them—and when, through that whole process, they look back at me with a happy expression—my heart is moved every single time. Happy faces are incredibly charming, and I always feel a little flutter in my chest when I see them. And then I’m wrapped in a gentle feeling, thinking, “I’m glad I prepared the shop today.”

Another moment is when I see the clothes we chose together actually being worn and loved in someone’s life. Many people come back wearing items they bought at SEASON, and each time, it makes my heart flutter again. Clothes bought three years ago and clothes newly discovered are mixed together in the same way, as we once again search for the style that fits that person perfectly.

The screen is overflowing with new images, constantly updating day after day. When fashion is your work, there is really no escape from that world (and I am part of it myself), and to be honest, I feel a great deal of fatigue. When I’m asked whether I like fashion, my feelings are always complicated. There are even times when I answer that I don’t. But if SEASON can become a place where people who feel the same way as I do can honestly feel excitement toward the fashion they truly love, then that is surely one of the reasons SEASON exists as a fashion shop.

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