It was in my second year at Bunka Fashion College, as I moved into the design curriculum, that a bright future finally began to dawn. What helped me emerge from my dark tunnel was the mentor and rivals I met at school.
Chie Koike, who established the design curriculum, was an up-and-coming leader who had experienced studying alongside the likes of Yves Saint Laurent and Karl Lagerfeld in Paris. Her courses were the most interesting.
