Rudolph Moshammer

The 64-year-old socialite, who was never far from his Yorkshire terrier, Daisy, appeared to have been strangled, police said.

Moshammer's death set off instant remembrances and eulogies for one of the nation's more eccentric characters -- a man with a perpetual tan and a gregarious laugh who designed clothes for the likes of Arnold Schwarzenegger, tenor Jose Carreras, King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden and Siegfried and Roy.

Known as "Mosi," Moshammer became a distinct voice in the fashion industry more than three decades ago. In 1968, he opened a boutique on Munich's Maximilianstrasse, the German equivalent of New York's Fifth Avenue. Tourist buses would often honk in front of his shop until he stepped out to sign autographs.

The Japan Times Weekly: Jan. 22, 2005
(C) All rights reserved