Yumi Katsura

was a Japanese fashion designer, who is best known for designing wedding dresses. She was active in the fashion industry for over five decades, and her work has been featured in various fashion shows and events. Katsura's designs are known for their unique blend of traditional Japanese techniques and French savoir-faire.

Early life and career Katsura was born on 24 April 1930 in Tokyo, Empire of Japan (now Japan). Her father, who was a government official in the former Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications (now Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications), and her mother, who founded the dressmaking school (currently Bunka Fashion College). As a child, she loved fairy tales and picture books, and even during the World War II, her mind was filled with world's princes on white horses and beautiful castles. Katsura studied fashion at Kyoritsu Women’s University. After schooling, she taught at her mother's dressmaking school. She has also been credited with popularizing the “everyday” kimono in Japan and around the world after the garment began losing popularity in the 1980s. She opened Japan's first bridal store in Akasaka, Tokyo, in December 1964. She built her flagship store in Nogizaka about ten years later.

Katsura named Pierre Balmain as one of her mentors and sources of inspiration. Later that decade, in 1987, she established the Yumi Katsura Bridal Museum in Kobe, whose collection includes traditional European wedding dresses collected by Katsura.

Exhibits One of Katsura's dresses is in the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Costume Institute, located in New York City. In 2018, Katsura became the first designer to exhibit her work at the Akasaka Palace.

Awards Katsura holds the Guinness World Record for most pearls on a wedding dress: 13,262.