Designer created gown for empress

DESIGNER Hanae Mori was known for her elegant signature butterfly motifs, numerous cinema fashions and the wedding gown of Japan’s empress.

Mori, who has died aged 96, symbolised the rise of Japan as a modern, fashionable nation and the rise of the working woman.

She died at her Tokyo home on August 11, a few days after developing a mild fever, according to the Hanae Mori Office. Empress Masako wore a Hanae Mori wedding gown adorned with rose petal patterns when she married Emperor Naruhito, then the crown prince, in 1993.

Mori also designed uniforms for Japan Airlines flight attendants, bank clerks, high school students and the Japanese team at the Barcelona Olympics.

The uniforms were not flamboyant like her runway designs, but tastefully professional, appropriate for their roles.

With her motto, “You feel decent, no matter where in the world you wear them,” Mori wanted to give confidence and dignity to those wearing her designs.

Her umbrellas and scarves, often decked with colourful butterflies, were a status symbol with working women.

She opened her studio in 1951 and was a pioneer of a generation of Japanese designers who became globally prominent.

Her first New York show, held in 1965, was acclaimed as “East meets West”.

She opened her Paris studio in 1977 and built an international business that extended to perfumes, handbags and publishing as well as fashion.

Reputed for infusing Japanese elements inspired by the kimono, Mori designed costumes for hundreds of Japanese films in the 1950s and 1960s, dressing star actresses such as Mie Kitahara, Sayuri Yoshinaga and Shima Iwashita, in some of the most renowned cinematic pieces the era produced.

The elaborate costumes she designed for singer Hibari Misora are also well-known among fashion buffs.

Mori also designed for the opera, including Madame Butterfly in Milan in 1985, and the Noh theatre.

In 2002, she was awarded the Legion of Honour from the French government.

Mori is survived by two sons, who have their own business, a daughter, seven grandchildren, and several great-grandchildren, the Hanae Mori Office said.

Her husband Ken Mori died in 1996.

Her grandchildren Izumi Mori and Hikari Mori are fashion models.

> Jamie Cullum, who is 43 today, is a jazz-pop singer-songwriter and radio presenter originally from Bath. Although primarily a vocalist and pianist, he also accompanies himself on other instruments, including guitar and drums. He has recorded eight studio albums, three compilation albums, one live album and 24 singles. Since April 2010, he has presented a weekly Tuesday evening jazz show on BBC Radio 2