I had the chance to meet with RISD alum Tae Ashida at her studio in Tokyo on my recent Asia trip. Tae’s elegant couture collections known as Miss Ashida are ambitious and inspired explorations in form, pattern, and personality. What impressed me most in my chat with Tae was her ability to speak to the confluence of international culture, emerging business opportunities, the importance of education, and in an especially loving way about her experience at RISD. In many Japanese periodicals Tae speaks of her alma mater – written here in Japanese as “ロードアイランド造形大学” – I think I feel a new Japanese T-shirt coming on. Be sure to catch Tae’s new upcoming collections! -JM