The fashion industry has lost another great with legendary Japanese fashion designer Kenzo Takada passing away on 4 October 2020 due to COVID-19 complications. Known for bringing Japanese fashion to the masses, Takada was celebrated for his eclectic designs that featured bright colours and graphic patterns.
Fashion is like eating. You shouldn’t stick with the same menu.
Kenzo Takada
Born in 1939 in Himeji, Japan, his passion for fashion started with him poring over his sisters’ magazines at a young age. He later studied fashion at Tokyo’s Bunka Fashion College and eventually moved to Paris in 1964, where he worked for various department stores.
In 1970, Takada opened his first boutique called ‘Jungle Jap’, a controversial name that he hoped he could redefine through fashion. Others disagreed, so he eventually changed its name to KENZO. In 1970, he was featured on the cover of Elle, and the rest, as they say, is history.
In 1983, Takada launched his first men’s collection, followed by perfumes in 1998 and skincare in 2001. In 1993, his label was scooped up by French luxury retail giant, LVMH.
Takada finally retired in 1999, leaving Roy Krejberg and Gilles Rosier in charge of Kenzo’s men’s and women’s clothing, respectively. In 2011, Humberto Leon and Carol Lim of Opening Ceremony took over the brand as creative directors, before departing in 2019 and leaving the reins to Felipe Oliveira Baptista.
As recent as January 2020, Takada announced that he’d be starting a new lifestyle brand named K3, which made its debut at Maison et Objet that same month. It’s clear that Takada was an innovator from start to finish, and thankfully, his legend will live on through KENZO.
We use cookies to enhance and personalize your experience, and to analyze traffic on our website. For more information, see our Cookie Policy. ACCEPT
Privacy & Cookies Policy
Privacy Overview
This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may have an effect on your browsing experience.
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.