Tsumori Chisato was born in the Japanese city of Saitama, Japan. Chisato attended Tokyo's Bunka Fashion College. She began work with Issey Miyake in 1977 under the "Issey Sports" line, which was later renamed "I.S. Chisato Tsumori Designs." With the support of Issey Miyake, she started her own line in 1990. She took her work to Paris in 2003, at the same time beginning her menswear line. Throughout her career she has built a loyal following in the United States. Her aesthetic focuses on prints and has a "healthy dose of manga/bohemian cuteness

Chisato always admired French culture, and fashion. She decided on Paris for her first free-standing shop outside of Asia in 1999. The boutique was designed by Christian Biecher and is located on rue Barbette in the Marais neighborhood. The flagship boutique showcases Chisato’s love for the arts through various collaborations with photographers, visual artists and set designers whose work is featured in-store and in the windows.