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Hanae Mori
From Virtual Japan
Hanae Mori (森 英恵) is one of the most well respected fashion designers in Japan. Her work has earned her collection presentations in Paris and New York and she was the first Asian woman admitted into the Haute Couture design house in France. Her original design house which opened in Japan in 1951 has since become a $500 million annual industry.
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History
Mori graduated from the Tokyo Women’s Christian University in the 1940s and married before attended dress making school. She opened an atelier in 1951 and for the next few years worked as a costume designer for major films, including Yasujiru Ozu’s Early Autumn. She presented in the New York collection for the first time in 1965 with “East Meets West” and 12 years later opened her haute couture showcase in Paris. Other work that Mori accomplished in her lifetime included the design of flight attendant uniforms for Japan Air Lines between 1867 and 1978.
She has earned numerous awards, including the French Legion of Honor in 1989 and the Order of Culture in 1996 from the Emperor of Japan.
Mori Today
Hanae Mori is currently retired from design but still operates a number of boutiques in Tokyo’s Harajuku district. In addition, Hanae Mori Parfums is still very active and are distributed worldwide. Mori continues to work with other designers such as Vivienne Tam, Vera Wang, Toshio Goma, and Cho Cheng.
Style of Dress
Mori’s primary style influences include the butterfly which is apparent in many of her clothing and she has worked on clothing for Princess Grace of Monaco and the wedding dress of Crown Princess Masako of Japan. She has also created costumes for Madame Butterfly and Elektra as well as Cinderella and Evita.