Two years later, the brand debuted in New York, where it immediately gained popularity among American department stores.īefore her New York show, WWD wrote that Japan was a “man’s country” and that Mori believed “women’s fashions, to be successful, must be designed not for the women who wear them, but for the men who behold them.” Japan’s film industry also was blossoming at that time, and Mori created costumes for hundreds of movies, including “Season of Violence” and “Crazed Fruit.” This work helped influence her haute couture designs and she launched her fashion business in 1963. She opened her first boutique in 1951 in Tokyo’s main shopping area Hiyoshiya, which rapidly became popular with Japanese women looking to dress up again after the end of World War II. Even after retiring she continued to design stage costumes, however.īorn Hanae Fujii in 1926 to an affluent family in southwest Japan, Mori studied literature at Tokyo Women’s University before veering toward dressmaking after her 1947 marriage to Ken Mori, a textile executive in Aishi who later became chairman of her eponymous fashion group. Mori remained a mainstay on the Paris couture calendar until 2004, when she retreated from the scene after staging a final show, with one of her granddaughters taking to the runway. We at International Cosmetics & Perfumes will forever be indebted to her trust in our company to launch her signature fragrance Butterfly over 25 years ago, which is still beloved to this day,” said Thomas Saujet, chief executive officer of International Cosmetics & Perfumes. Hanae Mori was an incredible woman who will always be remembered for her contributions to the world of Paris couture fashion. In the late ’70s, the family signed a license with Fairchild to launch WWD Japan, which continues to publish.Īfter news of Mori’s death broke on Thursday, the Fédération de la Haute Couture et de la Mode paid homage to the late couturier on Instagram, lauding her emphasis on transmission of handcraft and handwork to younger generations, as well as her role as “a pioneer in the emancipation of women in her country.”įormer president Ralph Toledano described her as a “great lady,” and remembered being “tremendously impressed by her presence and influence” after visiting Japan. But this butterfly was able to fly all over the world for 70 years, because I loved making clothes.Widely remembered as a woman determined and able to make her mark in male-dominated post-war Japan, the designer also was a talented business person. "It was like my butterfly wings were torn off. In its heyday, Mori's fashion and business empire occupied a whole building in Tokyo designed by the architect Kenzo Tange - later torn down and replaced with another structure at typical Japanese speed.įrom the loss of the building to the retirement of her fashion house from haute couture, "not everything was positive," she reflected in her Yomiuri column. "Fashion is something that pushes you, gives you courage to spread your wings and allows you to have adventures," she said. In January, she summed up her feelings towards the industry in a special column for Japan's Yomiuri Shimbun daily. Though she shuttered her Paris atelier in 2004 after her last couture show there, Hanae Mori boutiques remain open in Tokyo and her fragrances are still sold worldwide. Japanese fashion greats such as Issey Miyake, who died earlier this month, followed in her path. Her first collection abroad, in New York in 1965, celebrated the theme "East Meets West". Mori's trailblazing career took her from Tokyo, where she started out making costumes for cinema, to New York and Paris, where in 1977 her label became the first Asian fashion house to join the rarefied ranks of haute couture. Public broadcaster NHK and other media outlets also reported the news, saying a private family funeral had already taken place and giving the cause of her death as "old age". Mori died on August 11, Kyodo news agency said on Thursday, citing her office, without giving further details. Nicknamed "Madame Butterfly" for her signature winged motif, over the decades Mori's luxurious creations were worn by Nancy Reagan, Grace Kelly and numerous other members of high society.īut she was also a pioneer for Japanese women as one of a tiny number to head an international corporation, AFP reported. Japanese fashion designer Hanae Mori, who cracked the elite world of Parisian haute couture, has died at her home in Tokyo aged 96, Japanese media reported Thursday.
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