After two eccentrically dressed individuals ambush her, high school student Yukari Hayasaka promptly passes out due to shock. She soon awakens to find herself surrounded by even more strangely dressed people in the basement studio of Paradise Kiss—a fashion design club composed of four students from Yazawa School for the Arts. Although it seems like Yukari has been kidnapped, the older students explain that they only approached her to see if she would model their collection for an upcoming fashion show.

Being a senior with a busy schedule, Yukari furiously rejects the group's offer. But when she drops her student passbook in her haste to leave, the ringleader of the group, George Koizumi, picks it up and uses it as a means to coerce Yukari into considering their request. After hearing about the other members' unbridled ambition, Yukari is inspired to reevaluate her own circumstances and eventually agrees to help them out.

Now as Paradise Kiss' model, Yukari must learn to balance her new responsibilities with her hectic personal life. However, the more time she spends with George and the rest of the team, the harder it becomes for her to avoid getting swept up in the glitz and glamor of the fashion world.