Yukie Natori has 20 years experience in the beauty industry and from the very beginning has been a pioneering artist in a relatively unpopulated industry in Japan. Two decades on, Yukie has two successful spas and a nail tech school, designs nail art for Fashion Week in New York and Paris, and has the pleasure of designing some of our Founder, Ikponmwosa’s, best nail art. During a recent appointment, we chatted with Yukie about her career:
How did you start out?
Now I have 20 years experience in the beauty business, but it all started in New York City. I left Japan and came to New York to beauty school, as at the time they didn’t really have beauty schools or even salons. After my studies, I came back to Japan and opened a salon and school. I took what I learned in America and brought it back; I opened my first spa in Japan 15 years ago and now there’s a huge industry there. I built my business very fast, and then opened the spa in NYC about 5 years ago.
When was your first New York Fashion Week?
My first Fashion Week was about 10 years ago now, I designed the nails for LaQuan Smith’s show. He found me! His team reached out and I designed for the collection.
How do you prepare for the shows?
Usually the designer will share their style ideas and inspiration boards, typically to match the clothes, or even the shoes and accessories. We create a design from that inspiration. Now I have a team who are trained through the school so they will create lots of options, which I then select a few to share with the designer. This way we’re giving opportunities to design for artists who are learning, giving them opportunities is my motivation for the business.
What brands can we see you working with in the future?
I don’t know at the moment, but I have worked with brands at Paris Fashion Week which I love, and I would love to work with Chanel or Dior!
Visit the Yukie Natori New York spa on West 56th and 6th Ave, or visit the Yukie Beauty Spa Instagram for all your nail art inspo.
