Fashion designer Mitsuhiro Matsuda was born on April 2, 1934, in Tokyo. After graduating from the Faculty of Education at Waseda University, he entered Bunka Fashion College. His classmates included Kenzo Takada, Junko Koshino, and Isao Kaneko, earning him the nickname "The Flower Class of 9th Year." After graduation, he joined San-ai. In March 1967, he launched the fashion brand "NICOLE" and opened a store at the Sukiyabashi Hankyu department store. In 1971, he founded NICOLE Co., Ltd., employing designers such as Yukio Kobayashi and Itsuko Nakajima. He expanded his business to include women's and men's wear, accessories, and bedding, and expanded overseas to New York and Hong Kong. He passed away in May 2008 at the age of 74. The company currently offers 14 brands.