What do fashion and space have in common? On the surface, they couldn’t be more different, with one being seen as “creative” and the other focusing on “logic.” Yet, Sato Azusa found the perfect blend to shape her career.
Everyone has a moment when they are inspired, and it can change the course of their life. Before speaking about her inspirational career, we looked deeper into what what set Sato Azusa on the path to where she is now; it wasn’t always straightforward.
Fashion can be seen everywhere, and it felt familiar to Sato as she explained how, during her childhood her mother was incredibly creative, cooking, sewing, painting, and doing all kinds of DIY, adding, “Her creativity had a big influence on me.”
While Sato originally wanted to go to art university, life took a hard turn as she explained that while she was preparing for an entrance exam, she became very ill and had to undergo surgery. It meant she missed out on taking the exams but did not allow them to impact her life, so she picked a different path and enrolled in a fashion college.
“I started a whole new chapter of my life.”
Over the years, Japan has been known for its beautiful and unique fashion, setting trends and being at the forefront of fashion, and it has been for decades. When chatting about the beauty of Japan and sharing our thoughts on Japanese fashion, Sato was particularly enthusiastic when discussing the trends in 1997, looking at places like Harajuku and Shibuya.
“Japan was in the middle of a huge street fashion boom, especially with the “ギャル” (Gyaru) style leading the way. You’d see young people dressed so uniquely and some even wore these cyber-style tube hair extensions. It was wild, expressive, and full of energy. It was such a fun era for fashion, both in Japan and globally.”
While Japan is known for fashion, London also has a reputation for its unique style. When she moved to London when she was younger to study abroad, she had a love for punk fashion and rock music, which meant that Sato arrived at the perfect time when that style was synonymous with the capital.
It wasn’t everything she thought it would be. Sato joked about her funny experience when she first went to the historic and iconic Camden Town looking for the “real thing.” She explained, “I was expecting to meet actual punks, but I found out that most of them were “professional punks” just there to guide tourists to souvenir shops!” Luckily, she got the taste of pure punk when it came to Vivienne Westwood, one of her influences, who has always been linked to London.
“What I admire most about Vivienne Westwood is how she combined fashion with the music scene to create an entirely new style. She didn’t just follow trends; she invented one. She built the genre of “punk” and made her mark on the history of fashion forever. She’s someone I’ll always look up to. And just like her, I hope to create a whole new genre: one that blends fashion with space. That’s what I call “space fashion.”
The idea of fashion and space together might seem unexpected, with the two worlds seemingly as far apart from each other as possible. Yet, like Vivienne Westwood, Sato had a desire to create something new as she took her experience in fashion and brought it to the world of space.
Some people have a dream job growing up, but landing in space science was something Sato never expected. In fact, she had never been interested in science. The ambition actually came from her daughter in 2021. With love in her eyes, Sato revealed the story of how her daughter inspired her to enter a world she had never thought about, all because of a YouTube livestream of a Japanese entrepreneur going to the International Space Station.
“Out of nowhere, she turned to me and said, ‘Mama, I want to be a YouTuber in space! When I go, will you make me cute clothes to wear there?’ I was stunned. At that moment, something changed in me. I spent my whole life designing clothes for people on Earth, but space? I had never even thought about it.”
One innocent comment changed everything.
Sato took part in the Lunar rover “YAOKI,” but the path wasn’t exactly planned. After her daughter’s comments, she went on Google to search about designing spacesuits. One of the first results led her to MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology), but while it seemed impossible, she found another path through an online community for women in space. It was through this community that she did PR for a project called “YAOKI.” Sato came in at the start. As there were only a few people, she got to do a bit of everything. Some would shy away from the challenge, but she thrived from it.
“I was suddenly in the middle of it all. I threw myself into it, using my background in communication to connect with as many people as I could. I thought that if I wanted to design for space, I needed to be in it. And this was my way in.”
The Lunar rover was part of NASA’s transportation mission, “CLPS,” and with the reputation of the organization, it wasn’t surprising that Sato found the experience “unreal.” NASA is something one usually only hears about in movies or on the television, but the idea that that the rover was going to the moon gave her chills.
The name “YAOKI” isn’t just a beautiful word but comes from the Japanese phrase ななころびやおき (Nanakorobi Yaoki). When asked about the meaning, Sato explained that it was a Japanese proverb that means never giving up, the idea of falling seven times but standing up eight. While it’s a meaningful phrase, it has special meaning for her own personal experiences.
“I’ve faced setbacks, like giving up art university due to illness and changing careers in my late 30s. I jumped into an unfamiliar world and started from zero. But each time, I chose to get back up and kept going. It’s not about never falling. It’s about choosing to rise again. That spirit is at the heart of everything I do.”
Sato is now leading the design and creative direction of “Space Line,” showing that science and fashion have a closer link than expected, which she explains is because both are “rooted in imagination.” While space is unknown, clothing is something that makes us feel safe and can bring comfort and individuality, even in the most uncertain circumstances. Yet, her eyes sparkled while expanding on the link between the two contrasting industries.
“For me, designing space wear isn’t just about surviving out there. It’s about helping people feel strong, proud, and completely themselves no matter how far from Earth they are.”
Our conversation then turned to what she would do if she could design her own space suit, something many people have done when they were younger. The stereotypes are big helmets and metallic colours, but that is far from Sato’s thoughts as she explained that although humans might not be ready to fully enjoy fashion in outer space, space travel has meant that zero gravity isn’t only for walking on the moon.
In particular, she explained that her imagination was thriving for women’s space clothing, adding, “I imagine soft, floating dresses that bloom beautifully in microgravity: it’s a whole new kind of elegance.” This isn’t too far from reality, as Sato added that she was working on a spacesuit with Nishijin-ori, a traditional Japanese textile, for the Osaka Expo to express “Japan” in space.
After all these achievements, I asked Sato what her daughter’s reaction was to seeing her mum move from fashion to space. She tells me that because it started when she was young, at first, her daughter didn’t really know what was going on, but eventually, Sato noticed changes. Her daughter was drawing rockets and stars or talking about the lunar rover at school, even telling everyone, “My mum works in space,” making them think she’s an astronaut. Sato explained that she wants a future for her daughter where “space doesn’t feel too far or impossible, where it just feels normal.”
She clearly had an impact on her daughter, whilst also proving the importance of women in STEM. Sato explained how, in the past, people said women couldn’t be engineers and that even now, only about 10% of people in technical fields are women. However, while the numbers involved might be small, it still makes a difference, and she wants to ensure all women feel comfortable stepping into science.
“In my experience, I’ve been surrounded by strong, passionate women doing amazing work in space and science. I truly believe that the attention to detail and care that many women naturally bring are incredibly valuable in this industry. We need more of that, and I hope more women join us.
“I didn’t go to university. I’m not a science or maths person at all. But I’ve learned that when you step into something new – no matter the field – people will support you. So don’t be afraid. You don’t have to be perfect. You just have to be willing to try.”
After achieving so much, Sato still has huge dreams. She wants to help future generations by creating a school focused on space and design, sharing everything she knows about clothing in space. Along with inspiring the next generation, she wants to help build a better future: “My dream is to help humanity live more comfortably and creatively as we step further into space. I want to inspire a new generation of thinkers, makers, and dreamers to shape that future together.”
Sato Asuza’s life has thrown her many curveballs, but she has combined her love of fashion with a world she never imagined being part of: space technology. It is all done in the hope that she can help shape the future for the next generation.
