Hanae Mori

Hanae Mori is a Japanese fashion and fragrance brand created by couturiere Hanae Mori, who opened her first Tokyo studio in 1951 and became the first Asian woman accepted as an official haute couture house in Paris. Her couture and ready to wear work, often marked by butterfly motifs, led to international recognition and commissions for clients such as Grace Kelly and Empress Masako of Japan.

The dedicated fragrance line Hanae Mori Parfums was launched in 1995, when the brand introduced the perfume Butterfly, conceived to link Paris, Tokyo, and New York and produced with Cosmetique et Parfum International in France. Butterfly quickly became the signature scent of the house and firmly associated the brand with soft, romantic florals wrapped in gourmand notes. Earlier, in 1969, Mori had already explored fragrance through a collaboration with Shiseido, but the 1995 launch marked the start of the modern perfume portfolio bearing her name.

Hanae Mori fragrances are developed and marketed from Paris, reflecting Mori’s view of the city as a natural base for fashion and scent creation. The line is known among perfume enthusiasts for accessible, feminine-leaning compositions that combine Japanese-inspired delicacy with French-style sophistication, most notably in Butterfly and later releases such as HM. The continued involvement of her family, including her granddaughter Izumi Mori as brand ambassador, emphasizes continuity with the original couture vision and its blend of Japanese heritage and international outlook.