Words by Axel Metz
We detail the legacy of legendary Japanese designer and founder of the Kenzo fashion house, Kenzō Takada, who has died aged 81.
Few fashion brands are as outrageous as Kenzo. Bold, bright and full of colour, the hallmarks of a Kenzo piece have remained unchanged ever since the company’s founding in 1970. It was the wish of the brand’s founder, Kenzō Takada, to make ‘happy clothes’, pieces which permitted both creative and physical freedom and collections which embraced a truly international style. Despite leaving his eponymous label in 1999, Takada – commonly referred to as his given name, Kenzō – left an indelible mark on an industry which has lost one of its finest creatives.
Born in Japan, Takada moved to Paris in 1964 to begin his career in fashion. He quickly became known for his merging of Asian styles with European constructions, which saw him open a boutique store – Jungle Jap – filled with jungle-inspired décor, a testament to his willingness to embrace abnormal patterns and steadfast rejection of more conservative styles; he didn’t want to “do what French designers were doing.” In what would prove one of his last interviews, Takada told the South China Morning Post: “I decorated the shop myself with little money. One of the first paintings I saw in Paris and fell in love with was a jungle painting… and that was the inspiration.” The brand gained international attention, becoming Kenzo in 1976, and Takada continued at the creative helm until 1999, when he resigned to pursue a career in art.
Industry heavyweights around the world have expressed their admiration for a designer who, as described by Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo, “gave colour and light their place in fashion.” Naomi Campbell wrote in an Instagram post: “So sad to hear of your loss today. Will always remember your smile and humble demeanour, and the positivity you shined on us all. Rest with the angels.”
The current artistic director of Kenzo, Felipe Oliveira Baptista – who recently released his second collection for the brand at Paris Fashion Week – described Takada’s “amazing energy, kindness, talent”, a man whose smile was “contagious”. “His kindred spirit will live forever”, Baptista said, echoing the sentiments of countless others across social media.
In a world as politically volatile as our own today, it’s easy to dismiss fashion as a vapid and meaningless industry. But Takada, whose commitment to making ‘happy clothes’ established him as one of the world’s most likeable creatives, represents the value of the everyday positivity to be drawn from whacky, colourful, liberating fashion. Perhaps if the political leaders and technology titans of our time began wearing garments adorned with giant pink flowers, the world might be a better place. Maybe we should all be a little more Kenzō.
Zendaya is one such celebrity often seen in Kenzo outfits – read why she’s ready for global stardom.