Author: Yuri Kageyama
Associated Press
Japanese fashion designer Hanae Mori (centre) is praised by models after showing her autumn/winter 1997-98 haute couture collection in Paris in 1997. (AP Photo/Michel Lipchitz)
TOKYO (AP) — Designer Megumi Mori, known for her elegant signature butterfly motifs, numerous movie fashions and the wedding dresses of Japan’s empress, has died, her office said. She is 96 years old.
Mori symbolizes Japan’s rise as a modern fashion nation and the rise of professional women. According to Hanae Mori’s office, she died at her Tokyo home on August 11, a few days after she developed a mild fever. She was examined by doctors at home, but no specific cause of death was given.
When Empress Masako married the then Crown Prince Naruhito in 1993, she wore a flower seedling wedding dress decorated with rose petals. Mori also designed uniforms for Japan Airlines flight attendants, bank clerks, high school students and the Japan team. Barcelona Olympics. The uniforms aren’t as flashy as her runway designs, but they’re tastefully professional and fit their roles.
Mori’s motto is “make you feel decent wherever you are” and Mori wants to give confidence and dignity to those who wear her designs. Her umbrellas and scarves, often decorated with colorful butterflies, are status symbols for working women.
She opened her own studio in 1951 and was the pioneer of a generation of Japanese designers who have achieved global renown. Her first New York fashion show in 1965 was billed as “East meets West”.
She opened her studio in Paris in 1977 and built an international business that expanded into fragrances, handbags and publishing, as well as fashion.
Known for incorporating Japanese elements inspired by kimono, Mori designed costumes for hundreds of Japanese films in the 1950s and 1960s, as well as for films such as Kitahara Mie, Yoshinaga Sayuri and Ishikawa in some of the most famous films of the era. Shimo Shima and other star actresses dress.
She is also well known among fashion lovers for her sophisticated outfits for singer Miku Hibara. She also designed operas, including “Madame Butterfly” and Noh in Milan in 1985. In 2002, she was awarded the Legion of Honor by the French government.
Hanae Mori’s office said she was left behind by two sons with their own businesses, a daughter, seven grandchildren and several great-grandchildren. Her husband, Ken Mori, died in 1996. Her grandsons Morizumi and Moriguang are fashion models. The family held a funeral. A public memorial service is likely, but details have yet to be determined.
