The "beautiful people" design team, consisting of Hidenori Kumakiri (designer), Masayoshi Toda (pattern maker), Yusuke Wakabayashi (sales promotion), and Tamio Yone (planning and production), appeared at a "Creators' Talk" held at Bunka Fashion College on January 17th. The four alumni discussed the brand's seven years of creative endeavors since its founding. First, Kumakiri brought out the pants that marked the brand's debut. While seemingly denim, the hem and pockets are all embroidered. "They look like denim, but they cost 290,000 yen. Many people passed them by, but there were those who saw them and felt something, and they continued to help us," he recalls. The brand's signature "Kids Series," clothing for both adults and children, was launched in the Fall/Winter 2007 season. Thanks to Yone's experience training at London's Savile Row, the pants are professionally tailored despite their small sizes. Because it's difficult for adults and children to wear the same clothes, he carefully adjusts patterns to achieve a balance that makes them look like children's clothing when hung on a hanger.

He began to focus on collections and themes in the Spring/Summer 2009 season. Later, when Norwegian Wood was made into a movie, he designed a coat inspired by the elegant camel coat often worn by Naoko, used 3D prints, and in Spring/Summer 2011, had a model hold a balloon with a Twitter-like message written on it during a presentation. He continues to create clothes inspired by trends outside of fashion.

For the Fall/Winter 2011 season, he collaborated with the venerable Japanese brand "VAN." The collaboration was inspired by Haruki Murakami, who became interested after hearing that Murakami wore a VAN jacket to his first award ceremony. It was around this time that he began to turn his attention to Japan. For Spring/Summer 2013, he tried incorporating Japanese elements in an interesting way, using the theme "Otoko wa Tsurai yo" (It's Tough Being a Man). Beautiful People began holding pre-collections in 2011. "In Europe, four exhibitions a year is the norm. In this day and age, it's impossible to predict trends even six months from now, so we were inspired by requests from buyers to speed up the product cycle," they explain. The four members' commitment to steadily growing the brand while keeping an eye on the future is evident. When asked about COMME des GARÇONS, where Kumakiri and Yone previously worked, they said, "Rei Kawakubo's craftsmanship was meticulous and truly amazing. I think we're able to create great products today because we were able to learn from someone like her. However, I have no intention of repeating the same thing. I believe that avant-garde is Comme des Garçons' patent, and to achieve that, I need to stay at Comme des Garçons. I will use the spirit of clothing creation, the thorough attention to detail, and the dedication to clothing that I learned there as assets, but I will never repeat the same thing."

Ota Masari, PR for Isetan Shinjuku, who is also a graduate of the academy like the other four, appeared as a guest at the talk show. She first encountered Beautiful People when Salon du Chocolat collaborated with a Tokyo designer in 2008, and has been a fan ever since.

Beautiful People will open a shop at Isetan Shinjuku on Wednesday, March 6th. In the "DECADE" corner, a concept shop themed on fashion from the 1960s and 1970s, which is a collaboration between Daikanyama T-Site and Isetan, the shop will also sell bags in collaboration with Pierre Cardin.