Hanae Mori Style

Since her first smash-hit fashion show in New York's Hotel Delmico thirty-five years ago, designer Hanae Mori has gone from strength to strength, establishing herself as the preeminent Japanese couturiere of the modern period.As Stanley Marcus (former chairman of Neiman Marcus) said: "Her clothes were international silhouette.... Her Oriental color palette, her masterful handling of diaphanous fabrics like chiffon, which she floated over hand-painted and beaded foundations, gave a sense of security to the social leaders who adopted her clothes.... Thanks to Hanae Mori, the prevailing concept that 'made in Japan' meant cheap, poor quality goods was forever destroyed!" Her trademark was the butterfly and, like a butterfly, her career has been restless: never confining herself just to the glitz of seasonal shows in Paris, London, Milan, Munich and New York, she has designed for the ballet (Nureyev's "Cinderella"), the movies, theater, and opera (appropriately, "Madam Butterfly"), and has also created shoe, umbrella, apron, and lacquerware designs.