Shining Nikki Lore

There is information more so told through his clothes than necessarily his story. It is very obvious that Helz has an appreciation and great understanding of clothes, but he lacked in business knowledge which led to his original near-bankruptcy. From Love Nikki, we know that Apple Apparel becomes an extremely important company, the only one that sells clothes to the player without the use of gacha. 

I’m going to attempt to split this into legible sections.

Helz's Nail Salon

Address, also likely to be where his store is: Helz Studio, 168 Garden Avenue, Flowerland, Apple Federation

He has a delivery service called "HelzEx"

How does he have the money for this extension? Who else did he have to hire for this? This must've cost a lot.

Goya, a Fashion Brand under Mercury Group

Has only been described as "one of the world's top fashions brands."

Mr. Doge seems to be the director of Goya

Helz used to work as Mr. Doge's assistant, and hates him and his ideals

Helz had very pure intentions as a designer, without realising the darker side of the industry. This is why he was so disturbed by Serena's dieting

He believes that clothes "should make people happy"

As an assistant, he worked to send mail, make calls, buy coffees, deliver parcels, and occasionally design things

But the worst of it would be picking up Mr. Doge's child

Goals, Ideals, Locations, Motivations  

To become the largest apparel group, founded in Apple Federation

Apple Federation used to be part of Pigeon Kingdom, but declared Independence after a war

Opted for simple and practical designs, but after the war, became more modern and unique. This was later known as Federal Style

4 locations in Apple Federation: Flowerland, Shadowflow, Lodden, Rosset

Focus is going to be on Flowerland, as that is where Apple Apparel is

From the Tales of Miraland video.

There are 4 notable locations in Flowerland: Flowerland High, Apple Apparel Store, Roadside Tavern, and Fragrant Barbecue

From the information regarding Helz's designs, it seems though he thinks of faith as nothing more than a marketing tool

Implies he doesn't think much of religion

He also doesn't mind resorting to shifty tactics to sell, like saying something could "bring good luck"

There was also a certain item Shawn got from Helz that he sees as a "token of friendship"

He's good at maintaining relationships with people, and knows how to form connections

But most of all I think he's quite desperate to reach his goal, and a pitfall of that could be he forgets why he wants to design clothes to begin with

Because he designs for other people, for them to feel most comfortable, for their happiness - like Serena and the person in the other story (Mita, in Romantic Visit)

The Romantic Visit story also discusses how Helz gets commissions for pantsuits

He also reiterates that designs are tailored for people, not the other way around

"Everyone has a fashion that suits themselves. Why go chasing after those trendy brands?"

I guess he's against trends and/or tries to avoid them

Repeated over and over in his profile is that he wants people to be happy wearing clothes

Nikki notes that "he has an expectation to change the world, and I witnessed how that expectation became reality"

So I guess he's also quite like… goal-driven? Wants to change the world for the better? That kind of thing.

Not sure where to list this, but it's never explained how Chi Xiaoyu and Helz became friends. For her to work with him and bother him to the extent she can ask for discounts, I think they must be pretty close. My hypothesis is that they either went to the same school or classes. If they simply met through the small scenes that happened throughout the Diamond Star story, I doubt they would be as close. Helz describes her as his good friend, and he sells his clothes on consignment in the store for free. Xiaoyu comments that the problem is due to 'insufficient funds, limited clothing styles, high rent, low customer interest, and the quick passing of seasons.' Helz has to refer to her as 'Oh great new designer of Cloud Empire' before he is able to get help from her. Xiaoyu then proceeds to say that she has experience promoting and improving traditional Cloud-style clothing. They then move to Shadow Square and promote the unsold clothes through a dance. "Any style, any clothing, 100 diamonds!" In this section, Shawn insults Helz saying "There's no such thing as success for stupid people. If you work more, you lose more." Shawn says the same thing as the Landlord that is threatening to kick Helz out. And this is where he gets punched. Xiaoyu cheers for Helz while they fight. She even promotes the fight as part of their design shtick. "Cheer for the store owner, and get 100 diamonds!" Then all three of them get arrested by the Shadow Square manager.

Shawn is then revealed to be the son of the CEO (of Shadow Square/Shadow Shares). He justifies it by saying "There's nothing I hate more than stupid people." Because of this meeting, however, Helz sees a poster where Shadow Shares is recruiting fashion partners, for the prize of 10,000 diamonds. Shawn laughs at the idea, saying that Helz knows nothing about business. Except he's failing business class. Helz reiterates that he's a designer, not a businessman. Thus he has to change for his store to be successful. He then goes to the library with Chi Xiaoyu to study business management.

After studying for a week or so, Helz stands in the Shadow Shares emporium and describes that their 'Haute Couture' series, Diamond Star, is priced at 99,999 diamonds. The CEO of Shadow Shares, sitting offstage, approves of this. He even tells his son, Shawn, that he should be more like Helz.

I also just realised we don't actually have a layout for his store. This is a problem. The currency for the world is also diamonds. There's a sofa in his store, implying there is a staff room somewhere, or the sofa is part of the decor of the store. He cleans the store and displays designs within the store. In Diamond Star, they are described to be:

Woollen plain overcoat

Cat-printed T-shirt

Designer collaborations

Helz says himself that he places as many different styles of clothing as possible in the limited space — implying there is not much space within the store to begin with. There is also an upstairs area, where the 'Diamond Star' set is displayed on a mannequin. He prices Diamond Star at 8,999 diamonds, and rent is 10,000 diamonds for 3 months. That would be about 3,333 diamonds a month. He also mentions in this section that he 'returned here from Lodden.' This implies that Flowerland is likely his hometown, and he either went to Lodden to work for Mr. Doge or to study designs. Regardless, he could be influenced by Lodden's styles as well, which are typically more Pigeon-esque.

Clothing Descriptions and Further Analysis

There are some interesting things to note with all of the clothes that Helz has designed, especially with those that are not in clothing sets. I will highlight these piece by piece, and breakdown the implications. 

I wanted to start with 'Salvation of Belief,' an earring piece that is not part of any set. Most of these clothes are not in any sets, meaning they were created as standalones. Crosses are a very Christian symbol, and it is still uncertain if Christianity is part of Miraland or not. One thing is for sure: the Elves have their own religion, where they worship the 'True Crystal.' This Crystal is related to Leonid, who is a legendary designer, and also known as the strongest designer's reflection. Regardless, I've thought about this particular design description since the first time I saw it. The reason it stuck out so much to me was because it seems like he does not have much for the holy/theological aspect of religion/faith. He simply uses it as a marketing ploy; and thus, it comes off as ingenuine. However, this doesn't directly go against all his stories, like some of the other clothing pieces.

However, this piece, 'Black A-Line Dress,' completely contradicts with the Morning Breeze story. The description does not outwardly state that one must change their body to fit, however the phrase 'hugs you in all the right places' implies that the customer must have a certain body type to wear it. Outside of that 'certain body type,' the dress may not have the same effect, or achieve the same amount of 'grace.' Although he claims that people should not change for clothes (and also doesn't understand designers that chase after trends), after the Diamond Star story he begins to have a change in mind.

Assuming that the timeline is Morning Breeze -> Diamond Star -> Romantic Visit, most of the clothes that have somewhat out-of-character most likely have occurred after Chapter 4 of Diamond Star.