GS: What part of the body do you like to highlight?
Mori: This varies with the season. Sometimes I emphasize the roundness of the body, other times it is the breasts. Sometimes it's the long pair of legs extending out of a very short skirt. It could be the movement of the body.
GS: Has the idea of elegance changed since you started designing?
Mori: Refining one's individuality and expressing it is my definition of elegance, and this basic idea has not changed. Of course, the method of expression has.
GS: When did you first realize you were a great designer?
Mori: I have never considered myself as such.
GS: What drew you to design?
Mori: When I was young I wanted to become an artist. My dream was put on ice because of my father's disapproval. But I could not give up passion and decided to pursue it after my marriage, so I began to study fashion.
GS: How did film costume design affect you fashion outlook?
Mori: Designing for films is different because the visual image is important, whereas the clothing that I design are fashions that are meant to be worn by real people. The experience was very meaningful. Being adventurous in my designs for films have helped me in my fashion design work.
GS: What's attractive about designing costumes for the theater?
Mori: It's interesting because I must take into consideration the characters in the unfolding drama. Stage costumes are haute couture. They are clothes meant to be worn in front of many people, to be seen in, to perform an opera in, a ballet or a concert. I take great care in creating them, using the best materials.
GS: What about haute couture?
Mori: I had a ready-to-wear business in the U.S., but it was called a couture line and required a lot of work to be done by hand. I had also become exhausted by the business-oriented atmosphere, and began to yearn for a creative workplace where I could enjoy what I create. This feeling led me to open an haute couture maisonette in Paris.
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GS: What were the most significant obstacles you've had to overcome?
Mori: There were times when I have wanted to quit altogether. After ten years of designing film costumes, I was burned out. I did not even have time to sleep then. Also in a country like Japan where at the time there was not much emphasis put on fashion [during the 1950s and early 1960s], I had become disillusioned. Friends had recommended that I take a vacation and visit Paris, which I did, and I also visited New York in that summer. Experiencing the professional atmosphere of these two global fashion centers made me realize what an exciting business I was involved in. I decided, "I can do this and I will."
GS: What's the emerging trend?
Mori: In a nutshell, "Simplicity." The trend will focus on separate items that can be coordinated by the wearer to express each person's individuality. The focus is on comfort, romance and simplicity.
GS: Will Paris continue its reign as the worldıs fashion capital?
Mori: Yes, at least for the time being.
