Her direct, compelling gaze tells a story of the unwavering commitment and strength of a woman who has successfully built her own career. Her mysterious beauty occasionally gives way to a glimpse of her innocent smile. Akiko Ogawa, who is the designer of a primary, an elegant high-quality label known for its masculine tailored suits and beautifully cut dresses and who has a loyal fan base among Japanese business women, shares many common traits with the women that the label portrays in her look and air.

Ogawa presented her AKIKO OGAWA collection in New York in 2005. Since then, she has been showcasing her creativity in New York, while producing a primary, a second line that offers real clothing for career-oriented women. After starting her fashion career as a designer at an apparel company, she decided to launch her own label when she was 27 years old. "It was just a hunch. I thought that it was the right time." She would continue to rely on her hunches, which led her to many opportunities and people that she seemed destined to meet. "Many people were concerned about me when I went independent. I myself didn't really understand what failure would mean." Despite her company's significant success, Ogawa, rather than being content with the status quo, hasn't stopped challenging herself. A contract with Showroom Seven in N.Y., which counts ISSA as one of its clients, served as a stepping stone to realizing her N.Y. Collection. In addition, her collection dresses designed for celebrities secured a permanent place in an L.A. showroom last October.

The couture of a primary blends the strengths of a self-assured, independent woman with a delicate and feminine side. Different from her collection line AKIKO OGAWA, a primary is hugely popular for its prêt-à-porter line clothing for everyday occasions. Ogawa's former experience as a designer at an apparel company is at work here. "I was constantly challenged to create from the consumer's perspective. That exercise gave me the ability to organically find the something special that the customer, not the designer, would love," Ogawa explains.

The theme of a primary's latest autumn/fall collection is "One and only: Jackie Style." Its First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy look captures an elegant, yet sweet, classic style. "The Audrey Hepburn style is too cute for a primary's clientele, who are professional women. Jackie attended many official functions as the First Lady, becoming a fashion icon in the process. Her classic fashion style shares the very same concept of a primary. For our winter lineup, I added an edge to her style with the use of sharp-looking materials and glossy silk." A Jackie-style, high-waist and compact look is in for this winter, Ogawa says. The key is to mix black and bright colors to be chic and flashy at the same time. "I want women to go to work feeling like Jackie."

While a primary targets the Japanese market, Ogawa also debuted a new line for the international market in her 2007 autumn/winter collection in response to a request from a New York showroom. With a concept of "style-conscious, contemporary everyday clothes," the new line showcases different designs from a primary. Ogawa's N.Y. line embodies the western perspective of beauty. "Sexiness has to exist in the designs." The N.Y. line is also available at the A primary salon in Yurakucho Hankyu, the only store in Japan to sell it. It has already cultivated a loyal following among fashion-savvy professional women. "I think it is nice to offer a different style from a primary. I want to create a version that appeals to the international market."

The fashion world has always been dominated by the European and North American designers. Despite the remarkable international success of Anna Sui and VIVIENNE TAM, as well as Japanese designers such as ISSEY MIYAKE, Yohji Yamamoto and Rei Kawakubo of Comme des Garcons, the global market share for Asian designers remains small. "If I were American, Italian or French, I would simply be known as a "designer." But young Japanese designers in particular are almost always introduced as "Asian" or "Japanese" designers. Eventually, I would like to go beyond that and become a world-class designer." Ogawa, who embodies the image of the self-assured woman her label represents, talks about her commitment to creating original and unique designs of her own, rather than emphasizing Asian flavor.

"Staying positive and believing in myself is my motto. To make my dreams come true, I constantly remind myself to take that to heart." Her forward-thinking attitude and dignified strength must be the reason why her couture is dearly loved by aspiring and chic professional women. Designer Akiko Ogawa continues to face the challenge of bringing her designs to runways around the globe.