The press conference with Innocent World founder and designer, Yumi Fujiwara, began at noon on the second day of Pacific Media Expo.  This was Ms. Fujiwara's first time in the United States and is very surprised by her brand’s popularity in the US.  She began as a seamstress for another company and built her own company shortly thereafter. She holds a belief that you must make what you like and not be pushed around by what is popular.

She has been designing and making clothes for 15 years and was trained as a seamstress since childhood by her mother.  Her love of flowers and flower arranging (ikebana) has also played a part in her designs. Fujiwara's family always took trips to Kobe. During those trips, Yumi would explore the old Victorian style mansions and imagined what it was like to live there as an aristocrat.  The child-like love of pretty things and comfortable clothing has made her brand what it has become.  Being taught how to sew from her youth helped her ignore trends and focus on what she likes and what she hopes other will like.  She intends to remain with the Classic Lolita style which has a more Victorian feel something that sets her apart as a designer. There is a store for every aspect of Lolita fashion, but Yumi Fujiwara would like Innocent World to be known for the Classic Lolita style.

Yumi Fujiwara holds a high standard for her work and tries to create what she likes more than what people expect.  This high standard even goes into the marketing as she is very picky about who models her clothes.  Instead of the usual models, she prefers to use more normal people like the staff at her company.  She continues to work on her designs and hopes that people in the US will like her designs.

Yumi Fujiwara is happy to see the popularity of the brand grow both in Japan and the US.  Not only has she noticed people in Japan wearing her clothes in public, but she has been stopped and complemented on her clothing.  Although, she did not show much interest in seeing the fashion side of LA she did want to explore the tourist locations like Grauman’s Chinese Theater.  She has always loved to travel abroad and Paris is one of her favorite places.  She hopes to comeback to the US again and she has enjoyed her time here.

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