Hailing from rural Japan, Hanae Mori was born in 1926. Her surgeon father was fashion savvy, always on the lookout for new trends and it was no wonder than Hanae Mori aspired to become a fashion designer after the World War II ended and wives of American soldiers brought clothes for her to sew. With a degree in Japanese Literature, Mori graduated from Woman’s Christian University in Tokyo and got married to a wealthy textile mill owner’s son, Ken Mori.