Floral and vegetal prints, graphic patterns, vibrant colors and a single name to sum up this unique style: Kenzo.
Behind this signature known around the world hid Kenzo Takada.
The Japanese designer died this Sunday at the age of 81 as a result of Covid-19, at the American hospital in Neuilly-sur-Seine (Hauts-de-Seine).
With his large white wick, his black-rimmed glasses and his youthful smile, Kenzo Takada marked the world of fashion from his beginnings in 1970 until his professional farewell in 1999, six years after having sold his house to the LVMH group ( owner of Parisien-Today in France).
He leaves behind collections of clothing and accessories that mix Eastern and Western styles, but also perfumes with elegant bottles and "nearly 8,000 designs", according to his spokesperson.
Right after his fashion degree in Tokyo, he moved to France
A pioneer of Japanese designers living in Paris, Kenzo Takada was born near Osaka.
Fifth in a family of seven children, son of the owner of a tea house, Kenzo was interested in fashion from childhood, which he discovered through his sisters' magazines.
As an adult, he left Kobe University to join a fashion school in Tokyo, which has just opened up to boys.
As soon as he graduated, the Japanese sailed to Marseille and landed in Paris in 1964. He settled there permanently.
Kenzo Takada received us in 2002 in his Parisian townhouse./LP/Guy Gios
Success will come six years later.
Kenzo Takada's first collection, in 1970, combines revisited kimonos, high-waisted skirts and very loose tops.
A year later, in 1971, the stylist opened a boutique in Saint-Tropez and appeared in the American edition of the magazine “Vogue”.
From then on, everything is linked: opening of Parisian boutiques, installation at Place des Victoires in 1976, creation of its first line for men in 1983, its first perfume in 1988 and even, at the beginning of 2020, of the design brand K3.
Over the years, the stylist also organizes resounding events.
As in June 1994, when he covered the Pont Neuf with 32,000 pots of begonias and a curtain of ivy to celebrate the summer.
In February 2019, Kenzo Takada celebrated his 80th birthday at the Pavillon Ledoyen, near the Grand Palais: for this big day, he asked his prestigious guests to wear a golden outfit.