Baby, The Stars Shine Bright (often abbreviated as BTSSB or Baby) was founded in 1988 by Akinori and Fumiyo Isobe. Before starting Baby, Akinori and Fumiyo both worked for Atsuki Onishi. They were drawn to the emerging girly style taking shape in Harajuku, and the brand was named after a song of the same title by the group Everything But the Girl. From the beginning, Baby distinguished itself with its romantic, sweet, and elegant designs, appealing to a niche but dedicated audience.
In an interview, Akinori shared that he noticed a new style emerging in Harajuku that was unique in its expression of femininity and was intrigued by it. In 2005, Akinori explained that when they first opened Baby, the store wasn’t focused on Lolita fashion, and business wasn’t doing well. However, when a customer walked in wearing Lolita attire, he realized that this was the direction he should pursue. By 2005, Akinori had been designing Lolita fashion for 15 to 16 years, which suggests that, from his perspective, the style must have been developing since at least the 1980s. Although Lolitas do not consider Atsuki Onishi’s work to fall within the Lolita fashion category, the brand was undeniably significant in the style’s evolution. Fumiyo attributes much of her design inspiration to girls’ manga from the 1960s and 1970s.
