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Kenzo has found his new artistic director: the Japanese Nigo

2021-09-15T15:59:28.987Z


APPOINTMENT - The founder of A Bathing Ape, a streetwear icon, joins the ranks of the LVMH group house.


A few months after the announcement of the departure of Felipe Oliveira Baptista, we know the name of his successor at the head of the Kenzo collections: it is the Japanese Nigo.

Known to streetwear lovers for his brand A Bathing Ape, created in 1993 and since become cult, he recently collaborated with another house of the LVMH group, Louis Vuitton.

Indeed, Virgil Abloh, the artistic director of the men's collections of the house, had invited him to create with him LV2, a capsule inspired by mods

.

Read alsoVirgil Abloh, the hyper-creative Louis Vuitton unveils his collection: "I am inspired by the future of men's fashion"

With the appointment of Nigo, LVMH secures the services of one of the pioneers of

streetwear

, whose creations marked the 1990s and 2000s. His career is reminiscent of that of Kenzo Takada (they also followed the teaching of the same fashion school, the famous Bunka Fashion College). Indeed, as Takada knew how to transform a Parisian stall into a world famous brand, Nigo started his career with a small shop in the Harajuku district of Tokyo. Before becoming one of the figures of hip-hop style, including these several hundred euro sweatshirts for the legendary trio of producers The Neptunes, one of whose founders is none other than Pharrell Williams, with which he launched the brands Billionaire Boys Club and Human Made. We also owe him one of the first collector's shoes, the Bapesta, a sort of hijacked Nike Air Force 1.

From Swatch to Comme des Garçons

A true fashion encyclopedia, he notably opened his archives to Virgil Abloh, who had drawn many ideas for their joint collection, released last year.

The American then confided to

Le Figaro:

Nigo's work is one of the most important chapters in recent fashion history, and not only in the field of what is called“ streetwear ”.

His brand had its roots in the aesthetics of the street and elevated it to the rank of luxury, combining the values ​​of luxury houses with the aspirations of the younger generations.

It's a safe bet that it is this ability to juggle between the different registers of contemporary fashion that tipped the scales in his favor, even though several names (including those of Yoon Ambush, designer of Dior Homme, and Charaf Tajer, creator of Casablanca) circulated for this post. With him, the house offers itself the ability to attract a new, younger clientele, fond of collaborations. An exercise to which the Japanese designer, based in Tokyo, is more than accustomed: he has multiplied them during his 30-year career, with cutting-edge designers (Undercover, Comme des Garçons), consumer brands (Swatch, Pepsi , Adidas) and recognized artists (Kanye West, KAWS).

This appointment comes less than a year after the death of Kenzo Takada, who died of Covid-19 last October. With Jean Paul Gaultier and Thierry Mugler, he had become one of the most famous designers of the 1980s, acclaimed by French women who loved his easy and colorful wardrobe. He had sold his fashion and perfume company to the LVMH group in 1993, but remained in the artistic direction until 1999. Two of his former collaborators, Gilles Rosier and Roy Krejberg, first took over, before being replaced in 2003 by Antonio Marras. In 2011, the American duo made up of Humberto Leon and Carol Lim, founder of the concept store Opening Ceremony, were appointed head of the collections. With them, Kenzo takes on a more commercial dimension,the most famous example of which remains the very popular sweatshirts with tiger heads, which we have seen invading the streets. After their departure in 2019, the brand had apparently wanted to make a return to a more creative and daring fashion, embodied by Felipe Oliveira Baptista. But following the crisis, the native of the Azores left home last April.

This change is not the only one for Kenzo, who also announced the appointment of a new general manager, Sylvain Blanc. Having worked in Printemps and The Kooples, he was until then Managing Director of the Undiz underwear brand. He replaces Sylvie Colin, in post since 2017.

Source: lefigaro

All news articles on 2021-09-15

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