IRVINE — Sachiko Fashions has announced that its founder, Eileen Tabata Fitzpatrick, passed away on Feb. 5 from cancer.
Her staff wrote, “She loved her clients and thought of them as family. She loved designing clothes for each client and it made her happy to know how good they looked in her clothes and how happy they were to wear her clothes.”
Based in Irvine, Fitzpatrick held Sachiko Fashion shows throughout California and did the same with her previous company, Kanojo. The final shows were held on Feb. 4-5 at the Torrance Courtyard and Feb. 11-13 at the San Jose Courtyard Airport.
A Sansei born in Butte Camp, Gila River War Relocation Center in Arizona, Fitzpatrick decided that her mission in life was “to express and bring pride to my Japanese American heritage through my fashion designs.” She incorporated the Japanese philosophy of “l(fā)ess is more.”
“For 25 years I have been wardrobing women of all ages, shapes and size challenges,” Fitzpatrick wrote on her website. “I have listened to their needs and designed a truly special line of clothing that is both smart and sensible and most of all — befitting of the women who invest their trust in me.
“My fashion journey through life has been an incredibly enlightening and enriching one, thanks to the friendships I have made with so many of my followers. My mission, in addition to serving the personal fashion needs of my clientele, has been to give back to the community through fashion fundraiser events to support women’s clubs, museums, church, youth, scout, philanthropic and senior programs by donating a portion of my sales proceeds.
“‘Do something with purpose. Give back to your people and your community,’ my father always told me as a young child. He was right. It is a most gratifying mission.”
No services have been announced yet. For updates, visit http://sachikofashions.com/wp/.