"STYLING THE REMAINS"
An exhibition by Aki Maesato

Aki Maesato is a New York–based fashion stylist. Her exhibition Styling the Remains presents a body of photographic collage works developed from an archive of images she has photographed. The works draw from process photographs taken throughout her styling projects, as well as personal photographs and film photographs. During the run of the exhibition, she received the Best Styling Award at the Flying Solo Fashion Awards.

NNY: What has been an influential experience in your life that made you decide to become a stylist?

AM: Magazines were my first introduction to styling. I remember coming across an image with a style that felt unexpected. It had a strong impact on me, and when I learned that a stylist was responsible for shaping that image, I became fascinated by the profession.
Since then, I have remained interested in how new images and ideas can emerge through unexpected combinations.

NNY: What made you choose to build your career in New York?

AM: What attracted me to New York was the diversity of people and perspectives. The city brings together creative individuals from many different countries and cultural backgrounds, and that constant exchange of ideas is something I find very inspiring.
That environment continues to challenge me and encourages me to keep developing my own work. The level of creativity and competition here pushes me to stay curious and keep evolving. For me, the combination of cultural diversity and creative intensity makes New York an exciting place to build a practice.

NNY: Could you tell us about this exhibition and how this body of work developed from your styling practice?

AM: Styling the Remains developed from an archive of images accumulated over many years through both my styling practice and personal photography. All of the source images used in the works were photographed by me, ranging from process photographs from styling projects to personal and film photographs.
For this exhibition, I revisited and reorganized these materials through collage and reconstruction. Rather than creating a body of work separate from my styling practice, I see the exhibition as an extension of it. The process allowed me to reconsider existing images and explore styling as a way of constructing images.

NNY: Collage plays an important role in this body of work. How does it relate to your styling practice?

AM: For me, collage and styling are connected through a shared way of thinking. I have always understood styling as more than selecting or coordinating clothing. It is a way of thinking about how images come together.
Although the works take the form of collage, I don't see them as separate from my styling practice. What interests me in both is how meaning can emerge through the relationship between different visual elements and how new images can be constructed through their arrangement.
Rather than moving away from styling, collage became a way to continue exploring the same questions through a different format.

NNY: The Collage works bridge the gap between the photographic medium and your styling practice. Can you expand on their relationship?

AM: Photography is present throughout the work, both as source material and as part of the process itself.
The works are built from photographs taken at different times and for different purposes, including photographs from styling projects and personal photographs, including film photographs.
What interests me is how images can shift through these transformations. As they are revisited and reworked, they gradually move away from their original function and begin to form new visual relationships.

NNY: Elements like nature, architecture, and animals feature prominently in the photos. How do these elements inspire your styling?

AM: Nature, architecture, and animals appear throughout the work, but I don't see them as separate from the fashion imagery. All of the source images come from my personal archive, which includes photographs taken throughout styling projects as well as personal and film photographs.
When working with collage, I bring these materials together without assigning a hierarchy between them. Rather than focusing on a particular subject, I am interested in how meaning emerges through the proximity of different images and how new visual narratives can be constructed through those relationships.

NNY: What would you like your audience to leave with, after viewing this exhibition?

AM: Many of the images in this exhibition were never intended to become artworks. They were personal photographs, process images and references that simply remained over time.
Through the process of reconstruction, I began to see these materials differently and to discover new relationships between them. In some ways, that way of looking is also connected to my approach to styling, finding potential in things that might otherwise go unnoticed and considering how meaning can change when elements are brought together in a new context.
I hope viewers leave with a sense that images can continue to evolve beyond their original purpose.