In her lifetime, the Japanese fashion designer Hanae Mori was the only Asian person to be accepted by the Fédération de la Haute Couture et de la Mode – the French organization that governs haute couture fashion.
Now, a haute couture gown (custom-made by hand and custom-fitted for the client) by the late designer has been donated to the CTAHR Historic Costume Collection – and Andy Reilly of the Dept. of Family and Consumer Sciences couldn’t be happier.
“This donation will compliment other Hanae Mori creations we have in the Collection, and its history is a nice link between fashion, agriculture (plants), and philanthropy,” he says. “The Collection represents the history of Hawai'i as told though clothing and I am very thankful that the gown will remain in Hawai`i.”
The donor, Fredrica “Ricki” Cassiday, had originally considered gifting it to the Met in New York, Andy explains, but wanted it to remain in Hawai`i and instead, chose CTAHR.
“The designer Hanae Mori considered the gown to be one of her masterpieces,” says Ricki. “The Metropolitan Museum Costume Institute had accepted the gown, however I reconsidered the donation and determined that it should remain in Hawai’i where the educational benefits would have far more impact than if it went into the Met’s vast collection. In recent years, the Hawai’i fashion designers have been recognized internationally for excellent creative artistic designs and skilled craftsmanship. My intention is that the extraordinary design and superb workmanship of this gown will provide an invaluable learning resource example for all students and professionals in the fashion industry.”
The gown is made of silk chiffon and features sequins and beads sewn on to look like bamboo, fans, leaves, and three-dimensional flowers. Hanae Mori’s motif was the butterfly, which was incorporated into many of her creations, and this gown features a draped butterfly wing in the front.