NATSUKO KOIKE
Born and raised in Tokyo, Natsuko Koike decided to study International Studies and Journalism at a university in the U.S. after 9.11 happened in 2001. Her interest in making the world a better place and sustainability brought her to the Japanese advertising industry after college, and she worked at Hakuhodo for 5+ years. Her clients include Coca-Cola, KAO, MAX&CO., Paul Smith, and Suzuhiro.
When she got the UNIQLO-TOMODACHI fellowship to go to the Fashion Institute of Technology in NYC, she decided to leave the agency and moved back to the U.S.. Having studied Global Fashion Business in NYC, Paris and Hong Kong with her cohorts from all over the world in the graduate program broaden her views of global marketing and extended her network globally. After completing her MPS, she joined Uniqlo’s global marketing team and managed several collaboration projects such as Uniqlo and Lemaire, Carine Roitfeld, UT Disney collection, Liberty London, and also built a new type of in-line collection called Uniqlo U.
Her experience in creating and marketing versatile lifestyle wear brought her to the Japanese sportswear brand Asics. At its global marketing team, she first managed Onitsuka Tiger and Asics Tiger, then led one of the three sports categories called Fitness Explorer both as a global marketing manager. Her experiences in yet more diverse and global teams there had given her lots of opportunities to work with global creative talents and athletes, which she enjoyed a lot. Instead of keeping going, she had decided to focus on finding what she truly wanted to do in life, left Asics to join a boutique PR & Communications agency. Being part of the luxury and art industries and working for companies like the Foundation Louis Vuitton, Takashi Murakami, Alaia, Phillips Auction House etc. had let her build her PR communication skills and build a new network worldwide.
Now, she works at Vibram as a marketing manager for Japan & Asia, while running a company for skincare and well-being Pearl+ and managing a natural botanical dye brand Lefts, in Tokyo.