Japanese Fashion Designer Mori Hanae Dies
World-renowned Japanese fashion designer Mori Hanae has died at the age of 96. She was known for her signature butterfly motifs.
Mori was born in the western Japanese prefecture of Shimane in 1926. She took the first step in her long career with the opening of a studio in Tokyo's Shinjuku district in 1951.
After making a number of costumes for Japanese films, she won international acclaim with a collection presented in New York in 1965 that was dubbed "East meets West."
Mori became the first Japanese to be listed in Paris as an official designer of "haute couture."
She also designed costumes for opera and ballet performances at La Scala, Milan, and the Paris Opera.
Mori's work featured Japanese-style color combinations and traditional designs, and had a major influence on Japanese women's fashion.
Mori designed the uniforms for Japanese athletes who competed in the 1992 Barcelona Olympics.
She was awarded the Japanese Order of Culture in 1996. She received France's highest order of merit, the Legion of Honor, in 1989 and 2002.
Mori held her last fashion show in 2004 in Paris.
Sources say Mori died on August 11 of natural causes.