Hanae Mori, renowned Japanese fashion designer, dies at 96

Internationally acclaimed fashion designer Hanae Mori died of old age on Aug. 11, The Yomiuri Shimbun has learned. She was 96. Funeral services have already been held with close relatives.

Born in Shimane Prefecture, Mori studied dressmaking after graduating from Tokyo Woman’s Christian University and getting married. She opened her first shop in Shinjuku Ward, Tokyo, in 1951.

In 1965, Mori presented her first overseas collection in New York. Her use of fluttering butterflies, expressing traditional Japanese beauty in vivid colors, became a symbol of her brand.

Mori received the Order of Culture in 1996.