The creator of the wedding dress of Empress Masako and costumes for Cinderella Nureyev died

Fashion designer Hanae Mori dies at 96

Japanese fashion designer Hanae Mori, who conquered the elite world of Parisian haute couture, has died at her home in Tokyo at the age of 96, Japanese media reported.

Nicknamed “Madama Butterfly” for her signature winged motif, Maury’s opulent creations have been worn by Nancy Reagan, Grace Kelly and many other high society people for decades.

Mori passed away on August 11, the Kyodo news agency reported on Thursday, citing her office, without giving details.

Mori’s innovative career took her from Tokyo, where she began to make film costumes, to New York and Paris, where in 1977 her label became the first Asian fashion house to join the rare haute couture ranks.

In January, she spoke about her feelings about the industry in a special column for the Japanese newspaper Yomiuri Shimbun daily.

During its heyday, Mori’s fashion business empire occupied an entire building in Tokyo designed by architect Kenzo Tange, which was later demolished and replaced with another building.

“I felt like I had the wings of a butterfly torn off. But this butterfly was able to fly around the world for 70 years, because I loved to sew clothes, ”the fashion designer said then.

Hanae Mori designed the costumes for Madama Butterfly at La Scala and Rudolf Nureyev’s Cinderella at the Paris Opera. In 1993, the fashion designer created a wedding dress with a decollete for Masako Owada, the bride of the then crown prince, and now the emperor of Japan, Naruhito.