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Tsumori Chisato is a Japanese fashion designer.

She attended Tokyo's Bunka Fashion College. She began work with Issey Miyake in 1977 and started her own line in 1990. She took her work to Paris in 2003 and has built a following in the United States. Her aesthetic focuses on prints and has a "healthy dose of manga/bohemian cuteness

Tsumori Chisato is the undisputed queen of the Tokyo catwalks and one of the hardest-working woman in fashion. Martin Webb gets the inside story.

Tsumori Chisato may be known for her flowing fabrics, colorful embroidery and cult following among fashion-conscious young women, but that’s only half the story of her rise to the top of the Tokyo fashion world. A former protégé of Issey Miyake, Tsumori has spent the past 20 years keeping a firm grip on the latest Japanese street trends, surrounding herself with talented people and putting in long hours at her atelier.

“When I’m not sleeping or eating, I’m hard at work” says Tsumori, who last month made a business trip to St Petersburg and has just emerged from a day of back-to-back meetings. Being surrounded by hustle and bustle is part of the work ethic that has propelled the 50-year-old Saitama native to the pinnacle of her profession and the helm of one of Japan’s leading fashion empires. She describes her working environment as “a noisy, clamorous crowd of people making a din,” and that’s the way she likes it.

Tsumori’s first career break came when she attracted the attention of Miyake, but it was her mother who encouraged her to pursue a career in fashion after seeing the clothes she made for her dolls. After graduating in 1976 from Japan’s top fashion academy, Bunka Fukusogakuin, Tsumori worked on the now defunct Issey Sport line before getting her own brand, I.S. Chisato Tsumori Design, in 1983. 

Tsumori is hardly a verbose woman, but when it comes to talking about her mentor, she verges on gushing. “Issey-san has granted me so many precious chances,” she says. “He’s like a master and a father to me. I’m obstinate and not the type of person to listen to other people’s opinions but I still have Issey’s wondrous words here in my heart.” 

Indeed, Tsumori recalls with fondness anecdotes such as the time she spray-painted an old basket she found in the company warehouse, only to find out it was a valuable and treasured part of her mentor’s antique collection. “Even when he said harsh things it gave me a new energy and vigor,” she recalls. But above all, she says emphatically, “Issey-san taught me the way a designer should be.”

Under the umbrella of A-Net, the sprawling sister company of the Issey Miyake firm, the Tsumori Chisato brand as it exists today first came into being in 1990. It now has six stand-alone boutiques and 35 in-store concessions in Japan, one boutique in Paris and another in Hong Kong. Tsumori’s husband handles license deals for footwear line Tsumori Chisato Walk and other fashion accessories under the name Tsumori Chisato etc. Establishing a name that sells so well is no mean feat. But this business-savvy mother of a teenage son has spent two decades honing her reputation on a delicate combination of folksy looks and modern street chic. Her signatures are patchworks of fabrics like silk and chiffon, colorful embroidery and delicate hand knits, more often than not in her trademark bold colors of pink, turquoise and purple. The designer herself describes her work as “sexy but cute and funny,” three adjectives that strike a deep resonance with fashion-savvy young women in Asia, France and beyond.

The fall/winter collection due to hit shelves July 12 added a trashy ’80s vibe to Tsumori Chisato’s traditionally delicate, feminine look, with ’60s mini dresses, knee-high PVC boots, and eye-straining geometric prints. Bringing it all together with outrageous styling that included pompom earrings, slicked-back hair and fuchsia eye shadow, Tsumori also managed to incorporate some Japanese motifs such as herons and rising suns. 

The label’s biannual show is one of the few in Tokyo to attract attention from overseas press, particularly from Taiwan and Hong Kong, where Tsumori Chisato is held in particularly high esteem. As her brand gains an ever larger international following, the pressure on Tsumori to quietly abandon the Tokyo Collections has grown ever stronger. But the designer replied with a stern “no comment” when quizzed about rampant speculation that, like fellow A-Net stablemate Zucca, Tsumori Chisato will be shown on the Paris catwalks from next season.

Perhaps as an incentive for her to keep her lavish presentations on Japanese soil, Tsumori’s achievements were officially acknowledged by the domestic fashion establishment with the prestigious Mainichi Fashion Grand Prix prize in late 2002. She says she was “surprised but elated” by the award, which came after a particularly busy and stressful year. Tsumori doesn’t pretend that the events in the outside world haven’t affected her. “What with SARS and war and so on, it makes you feel gloomy,” she admits. “But, in the face of times like that, I think we should to try to be cheerful and have as much fun as possible.”

Having fun while she works is an element of the Tsumori mentality that has made working for her a highly attractive proposition. In a recent survey by Women’s Wear Daily, A-Net came out as the company fashion school graduates want to work for the most, making the Tsumori Chisato team possibly the most coveted position in the industry. One of this superwoman’s most celebrated attributes is an ability to surround herself with extremely able and talented people. When it comes to choosing her staff, she says, “I want people who are on the same wavelength, that kind of temperament. Also people who are interesting to work with, that’s an essential point.” 

Chisato Tsumori is perhaps one of the most famous names in fashion both in and outside of Japan. Her designs have been featured in English-language fashion publications such as Elle and Vogue and on popular fashion websites like Style.com. A once protégé of fashion giant Issey Miyake, Tsumori has propelled to the top of the Tokyo fashion world through hard work and talent. Her designs have created a cult following among the young fashionistas on the streets of Japan's cities. 

Born in the city of Saitama, Japan, Tsumori Chisato studied fashion at the prestigious Bunka Fashion School in Tokyo. In 1977, she entered the Issey Miyake design company as the head designer for “Issey Sports”, later renamed “I.S. Chisato Tsumori Design”. With this solid apprenticeship under her belt and at the encouragement of Mr. Miyake himself, Tsumori Chisato started her own line in 1990, a collection that made its catwalk debut in Tokyo at the Japan Fashion Week that same year.

Tsumori Chisato’s signature style was soon celebrated with her innovative and luxurious textiles, intricate beading, embroidery, appliqués and prints of her own design. Graceful, elegant and fun at the same time, Tsumori Chisato’s work has been greatly appreciated over the years. The prestigious “Mainichi Newspaper Award” is just one of numerous prizes she has received in recognition of her design achievements. 

Having always been proudly international at heart, with a particular penchant for all things French, she chose Paris as the destination for her first free-standing shop outside Asia. 

The Christian Biecher designed boutique opened on rue Barbette in 1999. Situated in the heart of the Marais neighbourhood, the boutique showcases Tsumori Chisato’s love for the arts through collaborations with photographers, visual artists and set designers exhibited in the storefront. 

Her artistic sensibility is also translated throught the brand’s inventive advertising campaigns. 

In 2003, Tsumori Chisato launched her first menswear line and began showing her women’s collection during Paris Pret-a-Porter Fashion Week.