Chiori/Storyline

Profile

Personality

The owner of Chioriya Boutique. A tailor renowned throughout Fontaine.

—In-game character attributes and profile page text

Chiori is a famous fashion designer from Inazuma who is currently running Chioriya Boutique in Fontaine and is one of the Komaniya Express's regular customers. She left Inazuma when the Vision Hunt Decree and Sakoku Decree was enacted and did not return until invited back to visit for the Mikawa Flower Festival by Kamisato Ayaka several years later.^[6] Chiori usually speaks in a blunt, straightforward manner, which can take some time to get used to. Her methods of resolving disputes can be considered radical, as she does not like wasting her time on explanations. She is also particularly prideful with her clothes^[7] and even scolding Lyney on one occasion when his outfit got damaged.^[8] However, if the situation calls for it, she does not mind having them damaged and/or destroyed.

In her youth, Chiori was often a troublemaker and considers herself spoiled by her parents. In one instance, she even snuck into the Kamisato Estate.^[9][10] She developed an interest in needlework and shows immense skill, thus resulting in her parents sending her to a master tailor to refine her craft. However, she soon came to learn and despise arrogant higher-ups, thus resulting in incidents that made her leave Inazuma for Fontaine. Her Geo Vision showcases her determination to follow her own path without succumbing to outside influences.

After an encounter while delivering a package to her, Chiori made Kirara's current outfit, Whirling Bloom, after being displeased with her appearance at the time, which she described as akin to being "unceremoniously dropped in a bucket of paint". This resulted in her store becoming more known as people inquired about the outfit.^[7][11][12] She also tailored the outfits worn by Lyney, Lynette and Navia, the themed outfits worn by Hu Tao and Xiangling in Springtime Charms^[13][14], as well as the accessories for Charlotte's Kamera, Monsieur Verite. Chiori is very popular among the people of Fontaine, ranging from the upper classes to even muscle men who treat her with respect and gifts; anyone who disrespects her are promptly thrown out of her store, and she does not hesitate to confront those who try to slander her or her business.^[15] While people are willing to pay for her clothes, Chiori is not particularly driven by wealth, rather being more interested in increasing the reputation of her name and store.^[16]

Chiori is good friends with Chevreuse, though her hard-handed methods to solving problems often leaves Chevreuse exasperated. She is also good friends with Navia, as the two young women share similarities with each other. She prefers justified competition in the fashion industry, as she quickly drives out malignant competitors^[17] and had nearly done the same when she was learning the trade in Inazuma.

Appearance

Chiori uses the medium female model. She has dark brown hair with yellow streaks, styled with side bangs and pinned up in an elaborate series of knots with a side ponytail. Her eyes are red.

History

Past

Chiori is the daughter of two unnamed Inazumans, who, according to her own words, spoiled her. She was an energetic child, even sneaking into the Kamisato Estate and befriending Ayaka. She showed great interest in needlework, becoming quiet and focused. Her parents, taking note of her interest, sent her off to a master tailor to learn the trade. Unlike the masters who preferred to keep tradition, Chiori preferred newer trends and refused to be someone groveling to big shots, something which got her into conflict with them and causing her to get a bad reputation on the Inazuman archipelago.^[18] The only one who appeared to support her was Ogura Mio, and Mio offered Chiori a spot in her business. While she sensed her genuine appreciation, Chiori declined, wanting to make her own brand.^[19]

Angered and frustrated, Chiori packed her bags and left the archipelago shortly before the Sakoku Decree was enacted, leaving so quickly that she was unable to give Ayaka a proper farewell. Chiori travelled across the nations, deciding to settle in Fontaine, the fashion capital of Teyvat.^[20] As she packed her belongings, she was shocked to discover a Geo Vision amongst them.^[19] Now free to do whatever she wished, Chiori began creating her own sense of fashion, but soon learned that the fashion industry was far more cutthroat than she had realized. As a newcomer, she was acquainted with another newcomer, Uther. Both were initially spurned by the industry, but whereas Uther had given up, Chiori persisted and eventually became acclaimed, founding the Chioriya Boutique, which quickly became popular with Fontaine's upper classes. To assist her in her designs, she created the puppet Tamoto.

Through the business, Chiori would become acquainted with Kirara from the Komaniya Express, using her services to get her goods outside her doorstep. When Kirara delivered a parcel to her, Chiori took a quick look at her and gave the nekomata a scorn for her ragged appearance. Refusing to let someone walk out of her store in such an abymsal state (claiming that she was a cat unceremoniously dropped in paint), Chiori gave her a serious dressing up, creating her outfit, Whirling Bloom. In return for making it for free, she asked Kirara to advertise her business when people asked her, leading to a sales boost as people inquired about it.^[21] Chiori additionally became acquainted with Lyney, Lynette, Navia and Charlotte, having designed many of their items for them. The business also caught the attention of the Gardes, with Chevreuse using Chiori and her business as a way to get intelligence in return for some oversights that occurred in the boutique. Chiori quickly gained a reputation for her ideals of fashion and no-nonsense attitude.

Present

The Traveler first meets Chiori as they visit her boutique, where she was finishing up an order for a customer named Laetitia, who was excited to wear a dress from her store. As she told her how to maintain the dress, Kirara arrived with her order. Chiori asked her why she was late and learned from her that she had been beset by bandits who were ordered to target her. Realizing that Uther was up to no good, she explained her now-complicated relationship with him and decided to confront him herself, despite Kirara's worries that the negative publicity would affect her chances at Fashion Week. Undeterred, Chiori confronted him outside his home and subsequently threw him out herself. Unbeknownst to anyone at the time, Uther had hired someone to photograph the event to further slander her name. Once the incident was seemingly resolved, Chiori had the Spina di Rosula accompany Kirara as her bodyguards for the duration of her stay in the nation.^[22]

The following day, as Chiori was preparing more orders, she was confronted by several clients who wished to have their orders canceled or returned, as they heard rumors that she supplied criminal enterprises. While she insisted that her sources were all legitimate, she had Eloffe handle their requests before learning her supplier was also stepping away. She met with the supplier, Wenger, who explained to her that he was backing off as a precaution as second-rate tabloids had accused her of scandal. He did not believe them, but because they had all sent the story once, he had to protect his daughter's reputation from any blowback and suggested she step down for the year. Chiori refused to do so, so he wished her luck instead. She then went to the Liffey Region to compose herself, where the Traveler found her. She explained her childhood to them, ultimately resolving to handle both Uther and the fashion show at once. Without a supplier, she decided to find her own inspiration by diving underwater and then destroyed some of her clothes at the store to salvage the cloth from them.^[18]

As Fashion Week loomed, Chiori had Eloffe handle the matters while she and the Traveler infiltrated Uther's factory in Fleuve Cendre. They discovered that Uther was mass producing clothes in unsanitary conditions and used chemicals that would cause skin problems. As they ventured deeper into the factory, Uther confronted them, angered at how Chiori was rewarded while he was left with nothing but scraps. Chiori insisted that he had regretted his decision but refused to acknowledge it, leading to Uther drawing a gun on them. The Traveler offered to fight him so she could return to the fashion show, but she had them go in her place. Now aware of how far Uther had fallen, Chiori told Uther she would no longer hold back and subdued him, handing him over to the Gardes.^[23]

Chiori later collaborated with Xavier to create a new film, though Xavier was having difficulties finding people to finance him. She met with him and the Traveler, and later the Kamisato siblings, who she had not met since her departure from Inazuma. She brought Chevreuse into the workforce after helping her deal with some smugglers. Chiori was responsible as the film's costume designer. When the film went missing, Chiori and the others went to look for it, where she found it in the sewers of Fleuve Cendre. The film was ultimately a success, with Xavier being given the Furina Award. Before the Kamisato siblings left, Chiori asked Ayato about her old friend Ogura Mio, her business and the state of Inazuma, pleased to learn that she was doing well and that the Sakoku Decree was lifted.^[24]

Trivia

• Chiori wields Uraku Misugiri in her portrait art and the Version 4.5 Trailer.
• As a Trial Character, Chiori is one of three playable character who wields a Flagship Event weapon in at least one of her Character Trial iterations (Cinnabar Spindle), with the other characters with this distinction being Albedo and Xianyun.
• Chiori is the first 5-star character added to an older-released nation that is not Liyue.
• Chiori is mentioned in the descriptions of the following 2 Furnishings:
  • Court of Justice's Couture
  • Handmade Brooch: "Woven Dreams"

Etymology

• Chiori (Japanese: 千織) translates to "thousand weaves."
• Chiori's constellation name, Cisoria, is the plural form of the Late Latin word cisorium, which refers to a cutting instrument.

Other Languages

Character Title: The Thundering Seamstress

References