Speaker 1: Hello from Wonder Media Network. I'm Jenny Kaplan and this
Speaker 1: is Wamanica. This month, we're talking about trendsetters, women whose vision, style,
Speaker 1: and willingness to break barriers changed culture from what we
Speaker 1: wear to how we behave. Today, we're talking about the
Speaker 1: first Japanese fashion designer to be accepted into the world
Speaker 1: of out kutur. Please welcome Hanai Moriy Floaty, feminine, silky
Speaker 1: as light. Runway models s linked past them onlookers gazed
Speaker 1: up at their flowing, delicate garments. It was New York
Speaker 1: City nineteen sixty five, and what they were seeing felt
Speaker 1: fresh and exciting. Familiar silhouettes with Japanese inspired prints and fabrics.
Speaker 1: The East was meeting the West, and the woman pulling
Speaker 1: it all together was Hanai Moriy. Hanai grew up at
Speaker 1: the crossroads between Eastern and Western culture that she would
Speaker 1: eventually cut into cloth. She was born in Japan's Shimane
Speaker 1: Prefecture in nineteen twenty six and came of age drained
Speaker 1: the Allied occupation of Japan following World War II. Her
Speaker 1: well off parents were beacons of Western influence in their community.
Speaker 1: Hanai later recalled, we were the only ones in my
Speaker 1: hometown who dressed Western style. It was embarrassing for me
Speaker 1: as a child to be different, but I guess we
Speaker 1: were rather envied too. In the school room, young Hanai
Speaker 1: sat in a skirt and blouse, surrounded by other girls
Speaker 1: wearing traditional uniforms. Hannai's father, a doctor, was hoping his
Speaker 1: daughter would pursue medical training after finishing school, but Hanai
Speaker 1: wanted to study art. As a compromise, she graduated from
Speaker 1: Tokyo Women's Christian University with a degree in literature. After graduation,
Speaker 1: Hannai married Ken moriy the heir to a textile manufacturing company.
Speaker 1: Hanai settled into life as a homemaker, but quickly grew restless.
Speaker 1: With Ken's she enrolled in design school. In nineteen fifty one,
Speaker 1: she started a small design business, operating from a space
Speaker 1: above a noodle shop in Tokyo. Hanai and a few
Speaker 1: assistants spent their days creating Western women's clothing using second
Speaker 1: hand sewing machines. Around that time, the Japanese film industry
Speaker 1: was experiencing a boom. A producer happened across Hanai's designs
Speaker 1: and asked if she'd be interested in making clothes for
Speaker 1: one of his movies, she said yes. Over the next
Speaker 1: several years, she designed costumes for hundreds of films and
Speaker 1: worked with nearly every major director in Japanese cinema. Hanai's
Speaker 1: profile in Japan rose. She expanded from above the noodle
Speaker 1: shop to boutiques. She developed a fashion newsletter called Ryoko Chushin.
Speaker 1: It introduced Japanese women to Western trends. During this time,
Speaker 1: Hanai and Ken had two children. Motherhood was a new challenge,
Speaker 1: and Hanai was thinking about stepping away from her business.
Speaker 1: That is until she met Coco Chanel. In the early
Speaker 1: nineteen sixties, Hanai traveled to Paris, where she arranged a
Speaker 1: private consultation and fitting with Coco Chanel. Coco was designing
Speaker 1: a suit for Hanai, and to Hanai's surprise, the iconic
Speaker 1: French designer recommended the suit be bright orange. Hanai, who
Speaker 1: always favored more muted colors, politely pushed back and the
Speaker 1: two compromised on a black suit with orange trim. Hanai
Speaker 1: remembered the fitting as a turning point in her career.
Speaker 1: Before she'd never thought of her design to something that
Speaker 1: could make a woman stand out in the crowd, but
Speaker 1: the bright orange suit stayed in her mind. Hanai went
Speaker 1: back to the drawing board. Her new designs were brighter
Speaker 1: and bolder. She focused on capturing an Eastern esthetic using
Speaker 1: prints and kimono fabrics, while still adhering to Western cuts.
Speaker 1: She explained, I cannot force ladies to wear kimono, but
Speaker 1: I can create the app sphere of the kimono. In
Speaker 1: nineteen sixty five, those designs appeared on a New York
Speaker 1: City couture runway as part of her show East Meets West.
Speaker 1: Hanai learned about ready to wear fashion and licensing through
Speaker 1: her time in the United States and brought the concepts
Speaker 1: to her own business. Her brand and its signature Butterfly logo,
Speaker 1: gained international recognition. It also earned Hanai her nickname Madame Butterfly.
Speaker 1: In nineteen seventy seven, she opened a boutique in Paris
Speaker 1: and became the first Asian designer to be accepted into
Speaker 1: the prestigious Chambres Syndica de la Cotrue Persiennes. That meant
Speaker 1: she could officially call her designs out couture, and in
Speaker 1: nineteen eighty six, Hanai became the first woman to join
Speaker 1: the japan Association of Corporate Executives all stripes of notable
Speaker 1: figures sported Hanai's designs, from Nancy Reagan to Princess Grace
Speaker 1: of Monaco to Bianca Jagger to Hillary Clinton. Nineteen ninety two,
Speaker 1: Hanai dressed the Japanese athletes for the Barcelona Olympic Games.
Speaker 1: The following year, she designed the dress Masako Owada war
Speaker 1: when she married the Japanese crown Prince. Hanai eventually expanded
Speaker 1: her global business into cosmetics, fragrances, and home decorps, but
Speaker 1: in two thousand and two her company filed for bankruptcy.
Speaker 1: She showed one final collection in Paris in the fall
Speaker 1: of two thousand and four before retiring from the world
Speaker 1: of co chore fashion. Hanai died on August eleventh, twenty
Speaker 1: twenty two. She was ninety six years old. Hannai's rain
Speaker 1: as Madame Butterfly opened the door for the many celebrated
Speaker 1: Japanese designers who came after her. She created a ripple
Speaker 1: in global fashion that eventually swelled into a wave. All
Speaker 1: month We're talking about Trendsetters. For more information, find us
Speaker 1: on Facebook and Instagram at Wamanica podcast special thanks to
Speaker 1: Liz Kaplan, my favorite sister and hope Creator talk to
Speaker 1: you tomorrow.