Fashion designer Eri Utsugi is a very lucky lady: After only one catwalk outing, her mercibeaucoup brand will open six new stores in prime locations -- starting with Aoyama and Ginza -- over the course of the next seven weeks.
This remarkable rollout is only possible thanks to a vast following for the quirky, kawaii clothes for boys and girls she has been creating since launching her Frapbois brand in 2001. Before that she worked with top designers Akira Onozuka and Tsumori Chisato at A-net, the fashion firm founded by Issey Miyake to handle his proteges' solo efforts.
Now, after parting ways with Frapbois, Utsugi is back at A-net with a new label, mercibeaucoup, and is presiding over an unprecedented store opening blitz that will see the Aoyama flagship that opens Friday followed in quick succession by shops in Ginza, Shinjuku, Shibuya, Kyoto and Harajuku, all within the space of just 52 days. It is a huge investment, and proof of just how big a star this talented woman has become.
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