TOKYO (TR) – In 2018, former idol Haruna Kojima launched brand Her lip to. The company has since added over 100 employees.
In an interview with site yoi (Mar. 31), Kojima speaks in detail about what she has learned from managing the brand and the significance of continuing to express “femininity.”
Serving as CCO, Kojima designs and works in production. The brand is currently expanding from apparel for women to beauty and lingerie.
“As the core of both the brand and the company, we create products with the desire to deliver a so-called ‘uplifting experience to our customers,”” she says. “The most important thing is that you feel good when you wear it. I want to provide an experience where you get praised by someone and your self-esteem increases as a result. I think about the design based on that.”
“I wanted to connect with my fans”
Such an approach is quite different from her days as an idol, when she was a member of AKB48.
“When I was an idol, I’m sure there were many people who liked me for my appearance, but now I feel that there are more people who admire me because they resonate with my way of thinking and my approach to work,” she says. “However, I don’t really feel that my awareness has changed drastically since I changed careers.”
As she grew older, her attitude toward work and what she wanted to do naturally changed. However, she never wanted to be a business owner.
“I wanted to connect with my fans, and when I pursued the creation of things that I started as a way to do that, I realized that the best way to make good things was to start a company and hire people myself. So I guess I have no choice but to become a president! That’s how I started my own business.”
When she first started the brand, she was looking at social media and noticed that there were a lot of women with low self-esteem.
“I saw a lot of people who were feeling down because of their posts and other people’s comments. The brand concept is based on the idea that I hope these women will learn to love themselves more and enjoy their daily lives,” she says.
Glamorous and feminine designs
Kojima’s brand is characterized by glamorous and feminine designs. The recent spread of awareness of gender bias that has cast something of a negative connotation to femininity itself is not a concern.
“I have always loved designs and colors that are considered to be so-called ‘feminine,'” she says. “Even in the midst of the debate that “women do not necessarily like pink,” I continued to choose pink. Even after launching Her lip to, I design with the atmosphere and world view that I admire as a guide, such as dresses that accentuate curvy body lines and fragrances with depth in femininity.”
She used the expression “Let’s choose femininity” as concept announced at the launch of the lingerie brand ROSIER by Her lip to.
“When I announced that ‘in this era of respecting diversity, I want to affirm the freedom to choose femininity,’ I received comments and encouragement from many people who shared the same opinion. These voices are my motivation and driving force to continue proposing my own style.”
She was very nervous because she had no idea what kind of reaction she would get.
“Until then, I thought it was cooler to show my thoughts and feelings through actions rather than words, so I didn’t express my thoughts or feelings,” the former idol says. “But I received a much bigger reaction than I expected, and I learned the importance of communicating with words.
