Hanae Mori, a pioneering Japanese fashion designer known for her “East meets West”-inspired creations, passed away on August 11 at her home in Tokyo due to old age, her office announced on Thursday. She was 96. The first Japanese person to be classified as a legitimate “haute couture” designer in Paris in 1977 was the fashion pioneer famed for her butterfly theme.
Up until her retirement in 2004, Mori showed her collections both domestically and overseas for decades. In 1993, Japanese Empress Masako married Emperor Naruhito, and as part of her bridal festivities, Mori created the white gown she wore. In the 1950s, she also made costumes for numerous Japanese films, and later, for Noh and Kabuki performances.
In addition to creating many versions of uniforms for Japan Airlines flight attendants and the official uniform worn by the Japanese team during the opening ceremony of the 1992 Barcelona Olympics, Mori gained notoriety for her works merging traditional Japanese kimono into dresses. Mori, who was raised in Tokyo and attended Tokyo Woman’s Christian University, was born in Shimane Prefecture in 1926.
She started out as a dressmaker in Tokyo’s Shinjuku neighborhood, launching her first studio, Hiyoshiya, in 1951. In 1965, she presented her first international fashion show in New York. The company bearing Mori’s name filed for bankruptcy in 2002, owing more than 10 billion yen. After that, she devoted herself to creating haute couture garments, and in 2004 she held her final fashion show in Paris.
Even after leaving the forefront of the fashion industry, Mori continued to design opera costumes until the 2010s. In 1986, she joined the Japan Association of Corporate Executives as its first female member. In 1988, she was awarded the Medal with Purple Ribbon by the Japanese government, which is given to people who have contributed to the advancement of academia and the arts. Mori received the Legion of Honor, France’s highest honor, in 2002 while holding the officer rank.
“In Japan, she was a fashion pioneer. She helped define what it meant to be a designer at a period when the field was young “Akiko Fukai, a curator and scholar of fashion, remarked. “She was acknowledged on a global scale since she was the first Japanese person to be designated as an haute couture designer in Paris, the center of the fashion industry. She made a significant impression.” Izumi Mori and Hikari Mori, granddaughters of Mori, work as Japanese fashion models.
