KENZO

Kenzo Takada

Kenzo Takada was born 27th February 1939 in Himeji, Japan.

Kenzo's love for fashion began at an early age through reading his sisters fashion magazines.

Kenzo was innitialy bored of university education and left against his familys wishes. In 1958 he went on to attend the prestigious Bunka Fashion College in Tokyo which is well known for its strict curriculum and heavy workload.

In 1964 after gaining his qualification at the Bunka Fashion College he went on to settle in Paris in a bid to make contacts and find his place in the Fashion environment. He sold fashion sketches and attended fashion shows.

Kenzo's ability to mix bold fabrics together in his early work is a signature style the designs incorporate.

Due to his financial situation Kenzo could not afford to buy premium quality fabrics for his designs, he instead bought fabrics from Flea markets, which helped to define his signature use of mixing different materials to create unique designs.

Backstage, two models in beautiful Kenzo creations.

Kenzo's success began in 1970 when he presented his first show at the Vivienne gallery, and then he opened his first store named 'Juungle Jap'. His collection was then shown in New York and Tokyo in 1971.

Kenzo designs use softer elemnts along with the detailed embellisments

The next few years would see Kenzo win awards and further develop his design style. His liking for dramatics was evident when he staged his 1978 and 1979 shows in huge circus tents, finishing with acrobats, horsemen and himself on an elephant.

 In 1983 he launched his forst menswear collection. 1988 saw the debut of fragrances up into the year 2000 with the debut of the signature classic 'Flowers by Kenzo' .

LVMH aquired Kenzo in 1993, and Kenzo himself retired in 1999 leaving his assistants in charge of the fashion house.


Kenzo's collections are heavily influenced by culture and textiles. The garments show detailed use of embroidery such as needlepoint, and embellisment. Kenzo collections use prints, and an array of fabrics from silk and chiffon to lambswool and cotton.

 The collections are beautifully rich , with each collection giving a different feel but still keeping the Kenzo signature intact.