How Hikaru Utada went from J-pop princess to luxury queen: with her Paris Fashion Week appearance and the hit Netflix show First Love, the Y2K legend and Cartier x Sacai face is back in the spotlight
- Hikaru Utada is one of the most influential musical artists in Japan, selling over 37 million physical albums; her song ‘First Love’ recently inspired an eponymous Netflix drama series
- The 40-year-old is beauty brand Shiseido’s global ambassador and the face of Sacai’s collaborative collection with Cartier from last year – no wonder she sat on the front row at Paris Fashion Week
Although her musical fame peaked in the noughties, Utada continues to enjoy huge success with her career, despite taking several hiatuses between albums to focus on her personal life. She has also ventured into releasing English-only records, while her latest album Bad Mode released last year is her first bilingual one.
So what has the 40-year-old been up to, and what are some of the different hats she’s wearing these days?
Her luxury brand endorsements
The Cartier Trinity for Chitose Abe of Sacai is a collection comprising six jewellery pieces that play on the shape of the classic Trinity ring. She appears in the campaign video, which also features her song “Somewhere Near Marseilles”.
Just in time for the capsule jewellery collection’s launch, Utada graced the cover and pages of Vogue Japan’s July 2022 issue. It was in fact her very first Vogue cover, bringing out her stylish side with the latest fashion pieces from Sacai and the limited-edition Cartier jewels.