At 94, "I Make My Own Dresses"... Yumi Katsura, Japan's First Wedding Dress Designer, Passes Away [Japanese Side]

Nickname 'One of the World's Top 4 Designers'
First Wedding Dress Shop Opened in Japan
Making Dresses at 94
Developed 'Yumi Line' Inspired by Kimono
Also Worked on Modernizing Traditional Japanese Clothing

Recently in Japan, news broke of the passing of designer Katsura Yumi, who earned the reputation of being one of the "World's Four Great Designers." She died at the age of 94, and as a pioneering wedding dress designer considered a trailblazer in Japanese bridal fashion, waves of tribute followed.

After graduating from university, Katsura Yumi went to France to study fashion design. She visited more than 20 countries overseas to carefully observe the state of wedding dresses and returned to Tokyo with the desire to create wedding dresses suited to Japanese women. In 1965, she opened Japan's first bridal dress specialty store and held the country's first bridal show. At that time, Western-style weddings featuring wedding dresses were not common in Japan, and many analyses credit Katsura with playing a significant role in Japan adopting Western-style weddings.

Yumi Katsura looking at the dress. (Photo by Yumi Katsura Japan Instagram)

From the 1980s, she expanded her activities by holding shows in more than 30 cities worldwide, including New York and Paris, establishing her status as a leading Japanese fashion designer. The "Yumi Line," presented at a bridal show in New York in 1981, gained tremendous popularity and was said to be inspired by kimono designs.

As her fame grew, in 1993 she even designed the vestments worn by Pope John Paul II at the Easter Mass. Amid this, concerned that Japanese people did not wear traditional clothing well, she worked on improving traditional Japanese attire by developing a two-piece kimono that simplified the dressing process.

She continued working almost until her death, marking nearly 60 years of activity in the bridal fashion industry. Even this year, in March, she held a fashion show in Tokyo presenting over 70 new works, demonstrating her remarkable passion for her profession.

Yumi Katsura at work. (Photo by Katsura Yumi Japan Instagram)

The media mourned her passing and shared touching stories of her making dresses for acquaintances until the very end. NHK reported an interview with talent Kecy Nakajima, who was close to Katsura. Nakajima said that Katsura made her wedding dress and even created a reminder wedding dress for their 45th wedding anniversary last February. Seeing Katsura's insistence on every detail and her refusal to compromise, Nakajima was confident she would continue her work healthily, which added to the sorrow.

Moreover, she had scheduled a meeting with a manufacturing company to check the design of new dresses for a show on the 30th of this month. Her departure after loving her work and burning with passion even at the age of 94 offers many valuable lessons.