Takashi Murakami - Mari Saito has passed away

Mari Saito has passed away. As I send my sincerest prayers to her from the bottom of my heart, I would like to reminisce a little about her here.The moment I first came to note Mari-san was when she gave me a harsh critique of my blatantly otaku fashion sense at the very first Paris runway show I ever attended, by telling me backstage: “Sensei, I see your pants are rather fashionably short.” Mari-san always had a sparkling laugh, making everyone around her happy. For me and Chiaki Kasahara , the most memorable moments with her are of course related to our Luis Vuitton project.For several years following my collaboration with Marc Jacobs in 2002, Mari-san, together with Kyojiro Hata, the then president of LV Japan, gave tremendous support for the collaboration, and we realized a series of incredible, out-of-the-box projects in France and Japan. Mari-san and Chiaki Kasahara had a profound connection and together they executed a number of such projects, which would be impossible to replicate now.Mari-san's cosmopolitan mindset, unique for a Japanese, uplifted everyone involved and brought each project to an exciting climax. I fondly remember each of the episodes that highlighted her attention to detail.Mari-san, it is thanks to you that my collaboration with LV achieved great success. Above all, you caused the party literacy in Japan’s fashion industry to advance by 20 years. Thank you.And please do continue to send us your aura that creates the well-balanced mood between frenzy and elegance in Japanese fashion world from where you are. ♡🙏
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