Japanese Fashion Designer Hanae Mori Dies at 96

Tokyo, Aug. 18 (Jiji Press)--Japanese fashion designer Hanae Mori, renowned as a pioneer in the country's fashion industry, died of old age at her home in Tokyo on Aug. 11. She was 96. A funeral for Mori, who was the first Asian individual to become an official member of prestigious La Chambre Syndicale de la Couture Parisienne in Paris, has been held with participation by close relatives. A farewell event is planned to be held at a later date. A native of the western Japan prefecture of Shimane, Mori graduated from Tokyo Woman's Christian University in 1947. After getting married, she attended a dressmaking school as she wanted to make clothes for herself and her children. In 1951, Mori opened "Hiyoshiya" dress shop in Tokyo's Shinjuku district, starting her career as a fashion designer. During the golden age of cinema in Japan in the 1950s, Mori designed costumes for roughly 500 movies, including "Taiyo no Kisetsu" (Season of the Sun) and "Kurutta Kajitsu" (Crazed Fruit). In 1965, she presented her first collection overseas in New York, with pundits lauding her show as a fusion of the East and the West. In 1977, she became an official member of the La Chambre Syndicale de la Couture Parisienne. Mori gained international acclaim for her use of bold and vibrant colors and patterns in her designs, which included her trademark butterfly motif. In the 1965 New York collection, for example, Mori exhibited a gorgeous evening dress and other items using Japan's "yuzen" dyeing technique and "chirimen" crepe fabric, and chose vivid red as the show's theme color, instead of black, which was in vogue in the city at the time. Mori also designed stage costumes, including for "Madama Butterfly" at Teatro alla Scala in Milan, Italy, and "Evita" by Japan's Shiki Theatre Company. She also designed official uniforms for Japanese athletes in the 1992 Barcelona Olympics. Mori received the Japanese government's Order of Culture in 1996. Mori branched out into businesses including cosmetics and household items. In 2002, however, her company running the businesses filed for bankruptcy protection under the civil rehabilitation law due to deteriorating earnings. In the same year, she received Officier de la Legion d'Honneur from the French government. After presenting her last haute couture collection in Paris in 2004, Mori engaged in work to promote art and culture, such as serving as director of the Hakone Open-Air Museum in the spa resort town of Hakone, Kanagawa Prefecture, south of Tokyo. Known for her belief that "we must not lose our Japanese identity," Mori was active in her career abroad to correctly inform foreigners about Japanese culture. Many western people at the time did not know or had a misunderstanding about culture in the Asian country. END