Japan bridal wear pioneer Yumi Katsura dies at 94

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Japan bridal wear pioneer Yumi Katsura dies at 94

TOKYO — Fashion designer Yumi Katsura, who helped popularise Western bridal wear in Japan and who made a golden cape for Pope John Paul II, has died aged 94, her office said on Tuesday. Having studied haute couture in Paris, Katsura opened Japan’s first bridal salon in 1964 at a time when traditional kimonos still dominated in wedding ceremonies and Western-style dresses were worn by only 3 per cent of brides. Starting in New York in 1981 with t…