Famed Japanese Bridal Fashion Designer Yumi Katsura Dies at 94

Tokyo, April 30 (Jiji Press)–Famed Japanese bridal fashion designer Yumi Katsura died on Friday, it was learned Tuesday. She was 94.

Born in Tokyo, Katsura, whose real name was Yumi Yuki, graduated from Kyoritsu Women’s University in the Japanese capital and then studied in Paris. She opened the first Japanese shop specializing in bridal fashion in Tokyo in 1964, after developing wedding dress materials based on various textiles such as lace and silk.

A dress resembling a mermaid-line dress she unveiled at a show in New York in 1981 was called the “Yumi Line” and praised as a masterpiece.

In 1993, Katsura gifted then Pope John Paul II a papal robe she designed for him. She became the first official Asian member of the National Chamber for Italian Fashion in 1999 and has held an annual fashion show in Paris since 2003.

She also made efforts to preserve traditional bridal fashion from Asian countries. Katsura received in 2019 the Commissioner for Cultural Affairs Award for her distinguished accomplishment.

[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]