Saleem d'Aronville is a British fashion designer based in Tokyo. In 2003, he launched Orihica, a brand he developed for Aoki Holdings Inc., one of Japan's top fashion retailers. As its creative director, Saleem built Orihica into a major label with 65 stores around the country. The brand's beautifully tailored suits and shirts, made unique with fine detailing, are a hit with business people looking for a stylish fit without digging too deep into their pockets.
Honesty will get you anywhere — even to the top! I have loved clothes ever since I was a child. After I graduated university in fashion design, I got a job in London at a retail store with 16 shops. After a few months, the owner asked 12 of us what would we like the most if we had all the money in the world. Some mentioned holidays, buying cars, etc. But I said I would want to buy his company and sit where he was. At the end of the meeting he told me to stay behind. All the others were thinking that this was the end for me — but at that point he made me creative director and gave me the highest salary in the company! I was just 22.
The minute we say "we know it all," we're dead. It's not life if it's that boring.