KENZO

Some brands leave an indelible imprint on high fashion, spanning generations with disconcerting ease. That's the case for Kenzo, which, since the 70s, has been at the centre of luxury ready-to-wear. Passionate about fashion from early on, Kenzo Takada started his journey at a design school in Tokyo. In 1964, with a diploma in his pocket, the Japanese designer left his home country for Paris, where he distinguished himself in the world of fashion. He started his Parisian career by selling sketches to big names in sculpture and design like Féraud and Jacques Delahaye. The spotlight was on Kenzo when he showed his very first collection in the famous Vivienne covered arcade in 1970. Things accelerated when he opened his first boutique in Paris called Jungle Jap, dedicated entirely to women's wear. Knowing how to mix classic and modern, Kenzo style blends Western and Eastern influences. Success came quickly when the brand joined the LVMH group in 1993. Six years after the launch of his eponymous brand, Kenzo Takada gave his place to Gilles Rosier who became the artistic director of the women's collections, and Roy Krejberg took over menswear. Soon the torch was passed to Antonio Marras and then eight years later to designer couple Huberto Leon and Carol Lim and then to Felipe Oliviera Baptista in 2019, signalling a new modern chapter for the brand. However, the visionary label doesn't toss aside tradition: The women's kimono has appeared on runways around the world in innovative fabrics, fresh and colourful. Recognisable at first glance, Kenzo style is adorned with Japanese prints, shimmering colours and clean lines. In 2017, the committed brand led a film project about the future of our planet. This new cultural direction paved the way for new collaborations, like in 2019 with the world-famous astrologist Susan Miller, who Kenzo called upon for the release of its Tali bag. After two years at Kenzo, Felipe Oliviera left the brand's artistic direction to Nigo (also known as Tomaki Nagao) in September 2021. Nigo is a Japanese stylist known in the world of streetwear thanks to his label A Bathing Ape. He launched his own clothing brand in Tokyo in 1993 and since then made a placing for himself in the sector. This new artistic director brought a touch of his deliberately urban universe. In the course of his career, he's signed many collaborations which refined his taste for street style: First with Supreme in2002, Kanye West in 2007, Comme des Garçons in 2012, and Virgil Abloh for Louis Vuitton menswear collections in 2020. Inspired and inspiring, the brand is turning toward new horizons, more and more in line with current trends.