Japanese fashion designer Hanae Mori died at the age of 96
Eva Deschamps / August 18, 2022
Japanese fashion designer Hanae Mori, recognized worldwide as a member of the haute couture elite, died on August 11 at her home in Tokyo at the age of 96, several major Japanese media outlets announced Thursday.
Hanae Mori was nicknamed Madame Butterfly for her trademark butterfly designs. Over the decades, her luxurious handmade creations have been worn by Nancy Reagan, Grace Kelly and many other celebrities.
Hanae Mori was one of the few Japanese women to head an international company, and as such remained a pioneer of women's empowerment in her country.
Her death was confirmed by her office to the Kyodo news agency, while other Japanese media reported that her funeral was already held in the privacy of her family.
Her avant-garde career took her from Tokyo - where she started in the post-war period making costumes for the cinema - to New York and Paris where, in 1977, her brand became the first Asian house to join the very select Chambre syndicale de la haute couture in Paris.
His first collection abroad - in New York in 1965 - celebrated the theme of the meeting between the East and the West.
Other great names in Japanese fashion such as Yohji Yamamoto, Rei Kawakubo, Kenzo Takada (who died in 2020 at 81) and Issey Miyake (who died on August 5 at 84) have followed in his footsteps.
Despite the dismantling of Hanae Mori's business empire in the early 2000s due to financial difficulties and the closing of her Parisian atelier in 2004 after her last fashion show in the French capital, boutiques bearing her name still exist in Japan and her perfumes continue to be sold worldwide.