Kenzo

Kenzo Takada is a Japanese fashion designer, or should I say businessman, he is the founder of Kenzo, which has a worldwide brand of perfumes, skincare products and clothes. He got a love for the fashion industry at a really young age from going through his sisters magazines, he attended the University of Kobe which wasn’t his thing at all and against the will of his family he left and joined a fashion school, Tokyo’s Bunka Fashion College, which had only just opened it’s doors the male designers. After earning his diploma, he moved to Paris in 1964. This was a way from him to make contacts by going to fashion events and selling sketches. I’m guessing luck went his way, because look at his designs now, the designer designing for Kenzo now is Antonio Marras. Photos are taken from his Fall 2011 RTW collection.

Kenzo's first designs started because he could only afford to buy his fabrics from flea sales. As a result, Kenzo had to mix many bold fabrics together to make one garment. This really shows in the designs today, which I think is refreshing what I also think has made the company use bold colours and prints together is because of the time that Kenzo himself started out designing was the 70’s this would be the era that they wanted to show the most of in the designs as he would like it this way, it’s his style. 

Rather than the designs being in your face hippie Kenzo is definitely not, it is a lot more subtle in my eyes especially with this collection, I mean it still has the print and retro colours, but there is a massive fashion edge to it, some things are very different maybe it being a jacket that a dress is put with, it brings a more clean cut type of style, something that maybe a less loud hippie would wear someone that believes in the hippie way of life but maybe doesn’t want to scream it to the rest of the world.  

I don’t see Antonio letting Kenzo down one bit especially with this collection it has really shown how he can use Kenzo’s love for pattern from his background and up bringing and make it into high-end fashion and make it something wearable for loads of different people. It may not all be happy-go-lucky type of hippie fashion with bright colours following you everywhere but was that really what it was all about?