Hanae Mori

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Hanae Mori
森 英恵
Hanae Mori in 1974
Mori in 1974
PronunciationMori Hanae
Born(1926-01-08)8 January 1926
Died11 August 2022(2022-08-11) (aged 96)
Tokyo, Japan
Alma materTokyo Women's Christian University
OccupationFashion designer
Years active1951–2004
Spouse
Ken Mori
(died 1996)
Children2
Honours
Websitehanaemoriparfums.com

Hanae Mori (Japanese: 森 英恵, Hepburn: Mori Hanae, /həˌnɑː ˈmɔːri/, 8 January 1926 – 11 August 2022) was a Japanese fashion designer. She was one of only two Japanese women to have presented her collections on the runways of Paris and New York, and the first Asian woman to be admitted as an official haute couture design house by the Fédération française de la couture in France.[1][2] Her fashion house, opened in Japan in 1951, grew to become a $500 million international business by the 1990s.[3]

Career[edit]

Mori was born on 8 January 1926[4] in Muikaichi, Shimane.[5] After graduating from Tokyo Women's Christian University, she married and attended dress-making school.[5] She opened her first atelier, Hiyoshiya, in 1951,[6][7] and over the next several years designed costumes for hundreds of movies.[8] In 1965, she presented her first New York City collection, "East Meets West." Twelve years later, she opened an haute couture showroom in Paris, leading to her 1977 appointment as a member of the Chambre syndicale de la couture parisienne.[9]

Mori designed three consecutive uniforms for the flight attendants of Japan Air Lines (JAL). The first uniform was worn from 1967 to 1970;[10] the second, which created a sensation by featuring a miniskirt, worn from 1970 to 1977;[11] and the third worn from 1977 to 1988.[12] From 1989 to 1996, Mori employed Dominique Sirop as a designer. He became a grand couturier in 1997. In 1992, Mori designed the official uniform for the Japanese Delegation to the Barcelona Olympics and, in 1994, the official uniform for the Japanese Delegation to the Lillehammer Olympics.[13] Also in 1993, Masako, Crown Princess of Japan wore a sleeveless white gown designed by Mori for her wedding ceremony.[14] Mori had the patronage of Masako, Crown Princess of Japan, Hillary Clinton, Nancy Reagan, Renata Tebaldi, and Monegasque Princess and actress Grace Kelly.[15]

Amidst company financial struggles, Mori sold the ready-to-wear and licensed apparel operations in January 2002 to an investment group formed by Japanese trading company Mitsui & Co. and the Rothschild group in Britain.[16][17] Opting for fast-track corporate rehabilitation, the company then applied to the Tokyo District Court for protection from its creditors on 30 May 2002, as it had ¥10,100,000,000 (US$81,000,000) in liabilities.[18][19]

Mori announced her retirement in June 2004, stating that she would be closing her fashion house after the Haute Couture Show for Fall 2004 in Paris.[16] She held her last fashion show in July of that year.[20]

Awards[edit]

In 1988, she received a Purple Ribbon Medal of Honor from the Government of Japan.[21] In 1989 Mori was awarded the French Legion of Honor by President François Mitterrand of France. In 1996, Mori was awarded the Order of Culture by the Emperor of Japan.[22]

Personal life and death[edit]

In 1946, Mori met Ken Mori (1912–1996), a textile businessman who she later married.[23][24]: 20  Ken died on 16 October 1996 of a heart attack.[24]: 24 [6] Mori had two sons with Ken named Akira and Kei. Both children help run Mori's business.[6]

Mori died at her home in Tokyo on 11 August 2022, at the age of 96. No cause of death has been revealed.[4][25]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Hanae Mori Haute Couture: Hanae Mori — The Work and Style". The Japan Times. 18 April 2015. Retrieved 30 June 2015.[dead link]
  2. ^ Holland, Oscar; Ogura, Junko (18 August 2022). "Hanae Mori, pioneering Japanese fashion designer, dies aged 96". CNN. Retrieved 25 August 2022. She also became the first Asian designer to be accepted into the prestigious Chambre Syndicale de la Couture Parisienne, making her one of a select group permitted to use the term "haute couture" to describe her hand-crafted garments.
  3. ^ McFadden, Robert D. (18 August 2022). "Hanae Mori, Japanese Couturier Who Melded East-West Styles, Dies at 96". The New York Times.
  4. ^ a b Horwell, Veronica (23 August 2022). "Hanae Mori obituary". The Guardian. Retrieved 24 August 2022.
  5. ^ a b "Hanae Mori". Tokyo Fashion Week. Archived from the original on 5 July 2019. Retrieved 5 July 2019.
  6. ^ a b c "Ken Mori, Chief of Hanae Mori, Dead at 84". WWD. 22 October 1996. Archived from the original on 18 July 2020. Retrieved 18 July 2020.
  7. ^ Miyachi, Izumi (14 January 2015). "From miniskirt to mass consumption". The Nation. Archived from the original on 19 July 2020. Retrieved 18 July 2020.
  8. ^ William D. Hoover (18 March 2011). Historical Dictionary of Postwar Japan. Scarecrow Press. pp. 189–190. ISBN 978-0-8108-5460-4.
  9. ^ McFadden, Robert D. (18 August 2022). "Hanae Mori, Japanese Couturier Who Melded East-West Styles, Dies at 96". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 19 August 2022. Retrieved 19 August 2022.
  10. ^ "History of JAL Uniforms – Fourth Generation Uniform (1967–1970)". Japan Airlines. Archived from the original on 15 September 2011. Retrieved 4 July 2019.
  11. ^ "History of JAL Uniforms – Fifth Generation Uniform (1970–1977)". Japan Airlines. Archived from the original on 15 September 2011. Retrieved 4 July 2019.
  12. ^ "History of JAL Uniforms – Sixth Generation Uniform (1977–1988)". Japan Airlines. Archived from the original on 14 September 2011. Retrieved 4 July 2019.
  13. ^ Federau, Cherie (31 March 2016). "Designer Spotlight: Hanae Mori". Shrimpton Couture. Archived from the original on 27 March 2019. Retrieved 4 July 2019.
  14. ^ Sanz, Cynthia (21 June 1993). "The Princess Bride". People. Archived from the original on 28 March 2019. Retrieved 4 July 2019.
  15. ^ "Hanae Mori – Vintage Couture". www.vintagecouture.com. Archived from the original on 27 March 2019. Retrieved 4 July 2019.
  16. ^ a b "Hanae Mori". FMD. Archived from the original on 24 October 2020. Retrieved 4 July 2019.
  17. ^ "Hanae Mori to sell part of operations". The Japan Times Online. 29 December 2001. ISSN 0447-5763. Archived from the original on 15 October 2019. Retrieved 15 October 2019.
  18. ^ "Hanae Mori holds 1st fashion show since bankruptcy". www.thefreelibrary.com. Kyodo News International. Archived from the original on 27 March 2019. Retrieved 4 July 2019.
  19. ^ "JAPAN: Fashion House Hanae Mori Goes Bust". www.just-style.com. 31 May 2002. Archived from the original on 27 March 2019. Retrieved 4 July 2019.
  20. ^ "Hanae Mori shows her final collection in Paris". The Japan Times Online. 9 July 2004. ISSN 0447-5763. Archived from the original on 15 October 2019. Retrieved 14 October 2019.
  21. ^ 10 November 2015. "デザイナー森英恵さんのファッションと文化" [Designer Hanae Mori's fashion and culture]. Middle Edge(ミドルエッジ) (in Japanese). Archived from the original on 27 March 2019. Retrieved 4 July 2019.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  22. ^ "Japanese Fashion Designer Hanae Mori Dies at 96". nippon.com. 18 August 2022. Archived from the original on 18 August 2022. Retrieved 18 August 2022.
  23. ^ "Who Says Butterflies Are Free? on a Hanae Mori Gown, They Cost $700 and Up". PEOPLE.com. 20 December 1976. Archived from the original on 15 October 2019. Retrieved 15 October 2019.
  24. ^ a b Evans, David (2002). Women in Business. England: Pearson Education. ISBN 9780582453272.
  25. ^ "Hanae Mori, renowned Japanese fashion designer, dies at 96". Kyodo News. 18 August 2022. Archived from the original on 18 August 2022. Retrieved 18 August 2022.

External links[edit]