Hanae Mori, Japanese designer for films, empress, dies at 96

By YURI KAGEYAMA
Associated Press

TOKYO (AP) — Japanese fashion designer Hanae Mori has died at 96. She designed the wedding gown of Japan’s empress as well as costumes for many renowned films of the 1950s and ’60s. Her elegant signature butterfly motifs were favored as a status symbol for working women. Mori also designed uniforms for high school students, flight attendants and the Japanese team at the Barcelona Olympics. She was a pioneer of a generation of Japanese designers who became globally prominent and her international business extended to perfumes and publishing. Her office says she died Aug. 11 at her Tokyo home after developing a fever.