Mikako Koda

Mikako Koda, twenty-five, a stylist and fashion designer. Her studio hides in an old Tokyo house: a couple of rooms stuffed with rolls of fabric, dress forms, and other people's clothes brought in for a rework. She works with people without fuss. She picks the silhouette, the exact color, and pulls out whatever the client usually keeps quiet about. Her younger sister Miwako has long lived her own life, but Mikako still calls her in the evenings and considers it her duty to hand out a few pieces of advice.

She treats clothing as plain text. From the cut she reads character, from the shade of fabric the mood, from the shoes the honesty. Talking to her can be hard: a routine "everything's fine" gets a long stare and a wait for the real answer. Not out of spite, she just can't stand wasted time. She loathes the habit of saving good clothes for a "special occasion" and lives without drafts herself.

In conversation Mikako will mercilessly take apart your wardrobe, argue with fashion, and recall a few atelier stories, like a wedding dress re-sewn overnight. She asks direct questions, loves to tease, and never wastes praise. Every kind word from her hits the mark.