02. Fashion Designer / Body Makeup Trainer: ASUKA TAIRA
As a body makeup trainer, what kind of training do you do?
Taira: First, I have a consultation to find out what kind of body my clients want. After that, I do chiropractic adjustments and then bodyweight training. Many of my clients feel changes in their bodies, such as the shape of their hips and the line of their legs, just by correcting their walking, standing, and body usage. I believe that training is meaningless unless you thoroughly adjust the body from the fundamental level, so I think I'm a very meticulous trainer who can spot bone distortions down to the millimeter (laughs).
You are also active as a fashion designer. Please tell us about your brand, LiLDOR.
Taira: Since I'm a trainer, I started with the theme "dresses to go to workouts," hoping people would enjoy the time spent getting to the gym and feel motivated on their way there. However, recently, I changed the concept to "clothes that give me power" to allow for a broader interpretation. Everyone absorbs energy from the surrounding nature, people, things, and events to live, so I want to embody that "power" as clothes that become a source of energy. I don't release new items every season, but only one style per month, so I operate on a sell-out basis for everything I create.
How do you design clothes?
Taira: I love to travel, so I write down my memories with people I meet on my trips and descriptions of scenes like "this kind of wind was blowing" or "those kinds of flowers were blooming." Based on that story, I design the colors, fabric textures, and shapes. These are the first clothes I made with the new concept (refer to the photo of me holding black clothes below), and they're based on a story about camping with a sushi chef and his family, whom I befriended during a trip to Takachiho, Miyazaki. I added gathers to express the "wind" I felt on the hill where we camped, and the chef's family was incredibly hospitable, so I incorporated that pure, selfless kindness and warmth into the design. I want to create clothes that people will cherish for a long time, clothes that resonate with my feelings and stories embedded in them.
What do you find appealing about designing clothes as a designer?
Taira: I believe there's nothing better than being able to bring my thoughts into form. While I don't have a massive customer base, I receive messages on social media like "Thank you for making such cute clothes." Every detail has meaning, and when people understand that and buy clothes that aren't cheap, those clothes become a part of their lives, don't they? When I think that I'm making someone happy, even if it's just for one second of their life, it makes me feel incredibly happy.
Does your experience as a trainer benefit you as a designer, or vice versa?
Taira: I believe fashion and body makeup are deeply intertwined. For example, the cause of sagging thighs is in the hip joint, but by returning the hip joint to its correct position, the lines of the thighs and hips become tighter. If you continue this, you'll be able to wear skirts and jeans that you couldn't wear before, or wear them with more ease. I want to wear clothes that make me look great and wear them stylishly. I always want to be that kind of person, so I believe training is essential for that.
Please tell us about your future goals.
Taira: I've only just begun to feel my purpose in the last two years, and I've realized the importance of pursuing what I want to do without giving up. So, I want to continue creating clothes that resonate with as many people as possible. On the body makeup side, I plan to gradually update my approach and continue activities that promote everyone's health, help them wear clothes stylishly, and hopefully bring them a little happiness. I want to be true to myself, honest, sincere, and never give up.
They say health is wealth. Are there any health or beauty tips you follow?
Taira: I'm very susceptible to external influences myself, but I believe health is connected to the mind. If you prioritize mental health, it will be transmitted from the brain, and your body will also become healthy. Sleep and hobbies are also important, and even if work is busy, I love nature, so on my days off, I go camping or traveling to make time to refresh myself. I try to do what I love and what I want to do when I want to do it.
You're using a gugu mattress. How is the sleeping comfort?
Taira: The mattress I used before was perhaps too soft, and I felt my lower back sinking, which caused pain. But since switching to the gugu mattress, my back pain has disappeared, and it has a moderate firmness that makes it easy to sleep. So, when I'm at home, it's so comfortable that I immediately lie down on the mattress, which means I can't get any work done at home anymore (laughs).
Do you have any preferences for bedding?
Taira: Rather than bedding itself, I pay attention to the space in my bedroom, like making my bedside table cute or placing flowers there.
What does sleep mean to you?
Taira: It's indispensable for me to perform well as a trainer and to create good clothes. It's my source of strength. I believe it's the root of everything. After all, if I'm not a good example, customers won't want to come for training, and they won't want to buy my clothes. I believe sleep is very important for the body, for exercise, for diet, and for clothes.
Text & Edit：Kazuhiro Hasegawa（gugu sleep）Interview photos：Kazuhiko Tawara（magNese inc.）
What sleep means to me
After appearing on Ainori Asia Journey in 2018, she became interested in training and started working as a body makeup trainer. Utilizing her experience as a fashion model, she now sells clothes exclusively online as the designer of LiLDOR, a brand that offers "clothes that give me power" from her own lifestyle.
https://teshioni.com/collections/lildor
LilDOR：@lildor_official
INSTAGRAM：@asucataira
