I went to the "Hanae Mori: Vital Type - 100th Anniversary of Birth" exhibition currently being held at the National Art Center, Tokyo. I was overwhelmed by the sheer volume of exhibits, and at the same time, I was amazed that one woman, Hanae Mori, could create such a vast universe.

After being overwhelmed by the sheer volume of exhibits, you realize that the era in which designer Hanae Mori lived coincides with the journey of how postwar Japan reconnected with the West and forged its own path. From the sewing boom, to film and magazine culture, to expansion into America, and finally to Paris—following the life of Hanae Mori reveals not just the success story of one designer, but the history of postwar Japanese fashion itself.

Premium Japan's contributing editor, Nobuyuki Hayashi, has written a report on the overall scope of this exhibition, so please check that out for more details.
Hanae Mori: The Path of Cultivating Japanese Fashion and Spreading it to the World - "Hanae Mori: Vital Type - 100th Anniversary of Birth" Exhibition　

After the war, "fashion designer" was the most cutting edge of women's professions.

In 1951 (Showa 26), Hanae Mori opened a shop called "Hiyoshiya" in Shinjuku. Around this time, there was a boom in Western-style sewing in Japan. After the war, the number of women who wanted to learn Western-style sewing increased dramatically, and consequently, the number of Western-style sewing schools also exploded. It is said that the number of schools, which was 689 in 1948 (Showa 23), reached approximately 6,700 in 1952 (Showa 27). This is only for officially accredited schools, so if you include other local sewing classes, it can be said that almost all Japanese women had some form of exposure to Western-style sewing. In 1951, a survey in Tokyo alone showed that more than 70% of households owned a sewing machine.

Yoko Kuwazawa, a designer who was working as a consultant for the editorial department of Fujin Gaho at the time, said she was at a loss because most of the questions she received on days when readers could ask for advice on dressmaking were things like, "How can I become a designer?" or "How can I open a dressmaking shop?" In the postwar period, when women's participation in society was still limited, being a designer or a dressmaking shop owner was one of the few professions that women could establish based on their own abilities. I believe Hanae Mori was also one of those who were in that realm of desire.

Film costumes × Hanae Mori

The opening of her store in Shinjuku in 1951 may have been a twist of fate. Unlike the clientele of Ginza, Shinjuku attracted a younger, more fluid crowd. The presence of film production staff among them led her to work in film costume design. This job lasted for about seven years, but her name rarely appeared in film credits. It seems to have been an extremely demanding job, and Hanae Mori said that she was physically and mentally exhausted.

However, this was also a time when the Japanese film industry was expanding into a massive industry. With the momentum of post-war reconstruction, the number of films produced increased, reaching a record high of 547 films in 1960. The number of moviegoers also reached an all-time high of approximately 1.127 billion in 1958. Before television became widespread, movies were truly the king of entertainment. The large number of films produced was also related to the fact that Japanese films at the time were basically shown as double features.

Nevertheless, significant events unfolded during this period. Through the powerful medium of being a movie star, the name Hanae Mori began to circulate outside of her own works. While it is well known that she designed costumes for many celebrities until her later years, this was likely the starting point for that. In terms of publicity, I believe this event gave her business its initial impetus.

The cocktail dress worn by Ruriko Asaoka in the film "Two Worlds" was on display. The intricate beadwork already showed the precision that would later be seen in Hanae Mori's designs. Despite the demanding nature of the production environment, skills and personal networks were accumulated simultaneously.

Entering the American market × Hanae Mori

Hanae Mori contributed many essays to the magazine "Soen." At the time, it was common for designers to write articles, such as essays explaining fashion. Writing was also part of their activities. In 1961, it was Isao Imaida, the editor-in-chief of "Soen," who sent Hanae Mori, who was busy making movie costumes, to Paris.

This pattern of "sending designers to Paris" was also a characteristic of women's magazine culture at the time. In 1952, Fujin Gaho sent Madame Masako to Paris as its correspondent. The magazine and the designer were connected, acting as a mediator for overseas fashion. Hanae Mori was also positioned within this network.

While she admired collections by Dior and Pierre Cardin, her interest wasn't limited to Paris. Rather, she turned her attention to the American market. It's a well-known story that she was outraged by the trite portrayal of Japanese people in the opera "Madame Butterfly" that she saw in New York, and by the fact that Japanese-made blouses were being sold as shoddy goods in dollar stores in the basement of department stores, which led her to decide to enter the American market.

However, perhaps the most crucial aspect of this experience was her recognition of the underlying structure. Parisian fashion was supported by buyers from American luxury department stores, and I believe she saw through that dynamic. In other words, she became aware of the existence of the enormous American consumer market.

In the novel "Kari-nui" by Sawako Ariyoshi, published in 1963 (Showa 38), there is a line that goes like this. It is a line spoken by Yuki, the proprietress of the high-end Western clothing store Parfum, in a scene where she and her lover, Aijima, talk about wanting to revisit Paris, where they spent time in their youth.

"Ah, I miss it. I want to go to Paris again."　

Omission
"Go ahead. I'm not recommending it. It's about time you went. Paris seems to have changed quite a bit."

"That's probably because the market has shifted to America."

The very fact that Sawako Ariyoshi wrote this line in her novel "Kari-nuu" (Temporary Stitching) indicates that there was already a shared sense at the time that the fashion market had shifted to America.

While today Hanae Mori's move to Paris is often recounted as a designer's success story, considering the fashion business at the time, being accepted by high-end American department stores was extremely significant. One could say that Mori secured the market before heading to Paris.

Hanae Mori made her full-fledged entry into the American market in 1965 (Showa 40), and the year 1965 is quite interesting. It reminded me of the American TV drama "Mad Men." In season 4 of "Mad Men," which is set in 1965, there is an episode called "The Chrysanthemum and the Sword." In this episode, the Manhattan advertising agency where the main character Don works participates in a Honda presentation.

The president of this advertising agency, Burt Cooper, was a cultured man who deeply loved Japanese art and Zen. He decorated his room with folding screens and ukiyo-e prints, and his carpeted office was strictly no-shoes zone. This description accurately captures the atmosphere of the time. After the war, through the activities of Daisetsu Suzuki, who introduced Zen to America, and Isamu Noguchi, a Japanese aesthetic sense quietly permeated the country, while industrial products such as motorcycles and cars also entered American consumer society.

1965, the year Hanae Mori entered the American market, marks a point when this kind of reception began to become visible. I believe her success coincided with the changes of this era.

At the same time, Japanese designers aiming for Paris also began to make a name for themselves. In 1970, Kenzo Takada opened his boutique "JANGLE JAP" in the 2nd arrondissement of Paris and graced the cover of "ELLE" magazine. While Hanae Mori presented Japanese designs as elegance using silk, Takada brought out romantic ethnicity with colorful cotton.

Even though the forms of expression differed, the underlying theme was a sense of Orientalism in beauty, which was the mood of the era.

Husband Ken Mori x Hanae Mori

Hanae Mori's breakthrough was built on a series of collaborations: textiles by Tadao Matsui and Stanley Marcus, owner of the luxury department store Neiman Marcus. Each encounter connected her artistic expression with the market. The exhibition covering these aspects was meticulous and well worth seeing.

And there's another important figure: her husband, Ken Mori. It's likely that this remarkable path was forged thanks to Ken Mori, a key person in her life. Ken Mori is said to have been an army paymaster officer, but this background is more than just a record. Like Yasuhiro Nakasone, who was a navy paymaster officer, among the people who shaped postwar Japan, he may have possessed a perspective that allowed him to survey economic and social trends from a broader viewpoint. Ken Mori is not detailed in this exhibition, but he is one of the important variables in understanding Hanae Mori's trajectory. He is an intriguing figure that I would like to investigate further.

I've written rather ramblingly, but this exhibition is so overwhelming that it makes me want to write about it anyway. In recent years, many famous brands have appointed archivists and are focusing on their brand archives, but this exhibition stands out for organizing the trajectory of a single designer to this extent.

Personally, I found the works from the 1960s and 70s particularly powerful, and the vivid and wonderful depiction of Hanae Mori's transformation into the Hanae Mori we know today was fantastic. The exhibition also showcased her licensing business, the creation of the Hanae Mori Building designed by Kenzo Tange, and her media operations such as "Ryuko Tsushin" and "WWD," making it fair to say that this exhibition is a grand constellation of Hanae Mori's work.

I believe Hanae Mori was someone who constantly elevated herself by combining encounters with the times. This exhibition is one that I want to revisit again and again when considering fashion history and postwar history. It's a must-see.

*Masato Inoue, "Western Sewing Culture and Japanese Fashion," Seikyusha, 2017.

◆100th Anniversary of Birth Hanae Mori Vital Type

Date: April 15, 2026 (Wednesday) – July 6, 2026 (Monday)
Venue: The National Art Center, Tokyo Special Exhibition Room 1E
7-22-2 Roppongi, Minato-ku, Tokyo
Opening hours: 10:00-18:00
Open until 20:00 PM every Friday and Saturday.
*Admission until 30 minutes before closing
Closed: Every Tuesday
*However, the museum will be open on May 5th (Tuesday, a public holiday).
Organizers: The National Art Center, Tokyo; TV Asahi; Tokyo Shimbun