It is a sad day for Haute Couture fans, but also for opera connoisseurs: Japanese fashion designer Hanae Mori, died on 11th August at her home in Tokyo, as confirmed by her office today.
Born Hanae Fujii in 1926 in rural Shimane prefecture, in southwest Japan, she studied literature at Tokyo Women's Christian University before specialising in dressmaking at Bunka College (at the same time when Kenzo Takada was studying there; both of them followed classes by visiting lecturer Pierre Cardin).
Mori opened her atelier in 1951 in Tokyo's Shinjuku district, after her marriage at the end of the '40s to Ken Mori, a textile executive. She mainly focused on costumes for Japanese movies in the 1950s and 60s, creating costumes for famous Japanese actors, including Yujiro Ishihara and Mie Kitahara, Mariko Okada, Sayuri Yoshinaga, Shima Iwashita and Ruriko Asaoka.
In 1965 Hanae Mori launched her seminal "East Meets West" collection. The latter was characterised by rich and colourful Japanese patterns such as cranes, cherry blossoms and butterflies on Japanese silk, combined with western styles.
The first Japanese designer to be accepted in 1977 to show Haute Couture in Paris by the Chambre Syndicale, in 1982 she was part of "The Best Five's '83" showcase in Tokyo together with Sonia Rykiel, Norma Kamali, Kansai Yamamoto and Valentino.
In 1985 Hanae Mori collaborated with La Scala in Milan, designing costumes for "Madama Butterfly" directed by Keita Asari, with sets by Ichiro Takada.
The designer employed bright and sharp contrasts of colours for these costumes, opting for a violet kimono with white butterflies for the main character and a monumental emerald kimono for the Imperial Commissioner.
Following the Japanese tradition and inspired by Foujita's costumes for this opera, Mori also created beautiful drawings for the lining of some of the kimono jackets for Madama Butterfly's relatives. The collaboration consolidated her nickname - "Madame Butterfly" - that she earned for her signature butterfly motifs. "My butterfly comes from the image of a silver shining jet plane," the designer once explained, combining in this description elegance with her entrepreneurial vision.
Mori often designed costumes for Noh and Kabuki theatre performances, operas and ballets. In 1986 she designed costumes for the Paris Opera Ballet's "Cinderella" directed by Rudolf Nureyev.
Mori also designed the uniforms for Japan Airlines flight attendants, banks and companies, school uniforms for junior and senior high school students, and the Japanese team for the opening ceremony of the 1992 Barcelona Olympics. Many in Japan remember her for the robe décolleté decorated with petals she designed for Masako for her marriage to the then crown prince, Naruhito, in 1993.
As the years passed, her empire expanded to include perfumes, ready-to-wear for women, men and children; accessories, eyewear, home furnishings and publishing (the Mori family has held the publishing license for the Japanese edition of seminal fashion publication Women's Wear Daily).
Favoured by working women, Mori became a symbol of female entrepreneurship: she was the first female member of the Japan Association of Corporate Executives; the Japanese government, awarded her the Medal with Purple Ribbon in 1988 in recognition of her contribution to art and, in 2002, she was awarded the Legion of Honor, France's most prestigious decoration.
An inspiration to many, including Giorgio Armani, Mori retired after her last high fashion presentation in July 2004. In October 2014, a new Hanae Mori line was launched, designed by Yu Amatsu.
In 2020 an exhibition entitled "Hanae Mori: Madame Butterfly, Flying to the World" celebrated her at the Contemporary Art Gallery, at the Art Tower Mito in Mito, and, in 2021, her designs were included in the exhibition "Fashion in Japan 1945-2020" at Iwami Art Museum, Shimane and The National Art Center, Tokyo.
Mori is survived by two sons, a daughter, seven grandchildren, and several great-grandchildren. Her husband Ken Mori died in 1996.
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