Hanae Mori: Grande Dame Of Japanese Fashion

Tokyo, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 18th Aug, 2022 ) :Japanese designer Hanae Mori, who cracked the Parisian haute couture world and was dubbed "Madame Butterfly" for her signature motif, has died in Tokyo aged 96, her office told AFP.

Over the decades Mori's luxurious creations were worn by Nancy Reagan, Grace Kelly and countless members of high society.

But she was also a pioneer for Japanese women, one of a tiny number to head an international corporation.

An employee at Mori's office said Thursday that she died at home "of old age" on August 11, and that a private funeral had taken place.

The designer's trailblazing career took her from Tokyo, where she started out making costumes for cinema, to New York and Paris -- and in 1977 her label became the first Asian fashion house to join the rarefied ranks of haute couture.

The exclusive French club sets exacting standards for their hand-crafted, and extremely expensive, garments.

"When humans work with their hands, their creativity expands," Mori told AFP during a 2006 retrospective in Tokyo, where a robot modelled a replica of her classic "Chrysanthemum Pyjamas" -- a kimono-like robe made from hot-pink chiffon and silk.

In January, the designer summed up her feelings toward the industry in a special column for Japan's Yomiuri Shimbun daily.

"Fashion is something that pushes you, gives you courage to spread your wings and allows you to have adventures," she said.