KANSAI YAMAMOTO: Japanese Fashion Designer Dies

Japanese fashion designer Kansai Yamamoto, known for styling musician David Bowie, has died at the age of 76, his family said. Yamamoto designed some of Bowie’s most famous outfits including those of the singer’s alter ego Ziggy Stardust.

The designer had been diagnosed with leukemia and died last Tuesday, his daughter said in a statement on Monday. Yamamoto was known for his colorful creations and incorporating traditional Japanese designs into fashion. “In my eyes, my father was not only the eclectic and energetic soul that the world knew him as but someone who was also thoughtful, kind-hearted, and affectionate,” his daughter Yamamoto Mirai said. “He valued communication and showered me with love throughout my entire life,” she added.

Yamamoto’s work blended traditional Japanese designs, including some from kabuki theatre, with bright and bold fantasy colors. Born in 1944 in Yokohama, he had intended to go into engineering but turned to fashion design. In 1971, he became the first Japanese designer to show at London Fashion Week.