Born and raised in Tokyo, Izumi Ogino first moved to Hong Kong in the 1980s to become a retailer focusing on building Italian brands in Asia. In 1993, she founded Anteprima in Milan and made her debut at Milan Fashion Week five years later as the first-ever Japanese female designer.

1998 marked the launch of the Anteprima’s iconic creation, the Wirebag, which grew out of Izumi’s passion for knitting. A granny-like hobby fruited in baby-style accessories. The hand-knitted method Izumi created twists in the material in a way that causes light to reflect, giving a blinding shine. I’ve heard that all Anteprima boutiques are strategically located in places with large windows and direct access to sunlight so the sun can stream through the large, windowed facades, causing the Wirebags in the display to sparkle and blind the onlookers. Izumi says, “I think many people are looking for light in today’s dark world.” Oh well… there might be better sources of light, and the darkness is often inevitable, but still Anteprima remains the cutest brand.