Design by Destiny

Here's what you need to know about Limi Yamamoto: she never wanted to become a fashion designer. Growing up rebellious in the southern Japanese city of Fukuoka, Limi dreamed, when she dreamed at all, of playing bass guitar in a rock band. But here she is in her wood-paneled studio in Tokyo, surrounded by outfits from her most recent collection: ruffled black skirts, well-tailored white blouses, chunky gray street shoes that read "LIMI feu" on their tongues, the name of her fashion label. Hard work helped bring her here, but in keeping with her diffident start, Limi's ambitions seem modest. She...