Kenzo (stylized as KENZO PARIS) is a French

luxury Luxury may refer to: * Luxury goods, an economic good or service for which demand increases more than proportionally as income rises *Luxury tax, tax on products not considered essential, such as expensive cars **Luxury tax (sports), surcharge pu ...

fashion house Fashion design is the art of applying design, aesthetics, clothing construction and natural beauty to clothing and its accessories. It is influenced by culture and different trends, and has varied over time and place. "A fashion designer create ...

founded in 1970 by Japanese designer

Kenzo Takada is a common masculine Japanese given name. Possible writings Kenzō can be written using different kanji characters and can mean: *賢三, "wise, three" *健三, "healthy, three" *謙三, "humble, three" *健想, "healthy, concept" *建造, "bu ...

and owned by parent company LVMH.

History

Kenzo Takada, 1970–1998

Kenzo Takada was born in Japan and moved to

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

in 1964 to start his fashion career. He then became known for using Asian and Japanese influenced style with the construction of European fashion. He started with a 'Jungle Jap' boutique located at

Galerie Vivienne The Galerie Vivienne is one of the covered passages of Paris, France, located in the 2nd arrondissement. It is long and wide. The gallery has been registered as a historical monument since 7 July 1974. History The gallery was built in 1823 b ...

and decorated in jungle inspired interior. He began with handmade women's clothing; reportedly, he made his first collection with $200 worth of fabrics bought at a large discount house in

Montmartre Montmartre ( , ) is a large hill in Paris's northern 18th arrondissement. It is high and gives its name to the surrounding district, part of the Right Bank. The historic district established by the City of Paris in 1995 is bordered by Rue Ca ...

. The brand became Kenzo after a fashion show in New York in 1976, as the American market considered 'Jungle Jap' too pejorative.Grace Cook (February 1, 2019)
Kenzo Takada — the journey from ‘Jungle Jap’ to Kenzo
''

Financial Times The ''Financial Times'' (''FT'') is a British daily newspaper printed in broadsheet and published digitally that focuses on business and economic current affairs. Based in London, England, the paper is owned by a Japanese holding company, Ni ...

''. In 1983, Kenzo started designing men and then kids and home collections in 1987, followed by fragrances in 1988. In 1993, luxury-products maker LVMH acquired Kenzo from SEBP and Financière Truffaut for about $80 million. From 1995, Kenzo also produced Kenzo Studio, a line was produced through a licensing agreement with the Bonaventure Group. While Kenzo developed the line's fashion direction, Studio was sold only in the U.S. and Kenzo retail stores in China.

Later years

From 1999 until 2003, Gilles Rosier and Roy Krejberg designed the women's and men's lines, respectively. From 2006 until 2008, over 100 of Kenzo's stores worldwide were refurbished.Jessica Bumpus (December 8, 2008)
The Marras Touch
''

Vogue Vogue may refer to: Business * ''Vogue'' (magazine), a US fashion magazine ** British ''Vogue'', a British fashion magazine ** ''Vogue Arabia'', an Arab fashion magazine ** ''Vogue Australia'', an Australian fashion magazine ** ''Vogue China'', ...

''. From 2008 until 2011, Antonio Marras served as Kenzo's creative director, overseeing the brand in its entirety. By 2011, Kenzo barely broke even, with annual sales estimated at 150 million euros ($197.4 million). By 2017, Kenzo built the accessories and shoe business to almost 30 percent of revenues. In 2019, Kenzo ended its distribution agreement with I.T to take back control of its 35 stores in China via a joint venture with the same partner. Under the creative direction of Felipe Oliveira Baptista, Kenzo launched a line of men's and women's sportswear, titled Kenzo Sport. In April 2021, Kenzo said it would part ways with Oliveira Baptista by the end of his term in June. In September 2021, Kenzo appointed Nigo as their new artistic director.Miles Socha (September 15, 2021)
Exclusive: Kenzo Picks Streetwear Guru Nigo as Its Next Designer
''

Women's Wear Daily ''Women's Wear Daily'' (also known as ''WWD'') is a fashion-industry trade journal often referred to as the "Bible of fashion". Horyn, Cathy"Breaking Fashion News With a Provocative Edge" ''The New York Times''. (August 20, 1999). It provides inf ...

''.

Locations

Kenzo has expanded rapidly in the time since its first American store has opened, as of June 2021 it now operates 6 locations in the US: *

Wynn Las Vegas Wynn Las Vegas, often simply referred to as Wynn, is a luxury resort and casino located on the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada, United States. It is owned and operated by Wynn Resorts, and was built on the former site of the Desert Inn resor ...

-3131 Las Vegas Blvd *

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

The Shops & Restaurants at Hudson Yards The Shops & Restaurants at Hudson Yards is an upscale indoor shopping mall in New York City, located at 20 Hudson Yards, at 33rd Street and Tenth Avenue, within the Hudson Yards complex in Midtown Manhattan. It has of space, including in r ...

-20 Hudson Yards * SoHo, Manhattan-107 Grand Street *

Beverly Center Beverly Center is a shopping mall in Los Angeles, California, United States. It is an eight-story structure located at the edge of Beverly Hills and West Hollywood, between La Cienega and San Vicente boulevards. Anchor tenants include Blooming ...

-8500 Beverly Blvd *

Cabazon Cabazon (Spanish: ''Cabazón'') is a unincorporated community in Riverside County, California, United States. Cabazon is on the Pacific Crest Trail. In the 21st century, the area has become a tourist stop, due to the Morongo Casino, Resort & S ...

-48400 Seminole Dr *

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(New York) In June 2020, Kenzo unveiled its first American flagship store in SoHo, Manhattan. Additionally it has nearly 145 stores worldwide primarily concentrated in

South East Asia Southeast Asia, also spelled South East Asia and South-East Asia, and also known as Southeastern Asia, South-eastern Asia or SEA, is the geographical south-eastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of mainland ...

, Japan and

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located entirel ...

Role in popular culture

The character Kenzo Harper in the BBC sitcom My Family is named after the fashion brand. In 2012, designers

Humberto Leon Humberto Leon (born June 7, 1975) is an American fashion designer, retailer and creative director, working in partnership with Carol Lim. Leon and Lim founded the fashion retailer Opening Ceremony (brand), Opening Ceremony in 2002 in Lower Manh ...

and Carol Lim unveiled a knitted sweater with a tiger graphic on it for Kenzo's Fall 2012 collection. Leon wanted to make a sweatshirt version of the sweater for him to wear. Despite initial resistance from Kenzo's design team, the tiger sweatshirts became extremely popular, with the initial run of sweatshirts selling out within hours at Kenzo's Paris location. Since 2011, the tiger shirt and clothing designed by Leon and Lim has been worn by celebrities and fashion bloggers including Jay Z,

Kevin Hart Kevin Darnell Hart (born July 6, 1979) is an American comedian and actor. Originally known as a stand-up comedian, he has since starred in Hollywood films and on TV. He has also released several well-received comedy albums. After winning se ...

, Beyoncé,

Zooey Deschanel Zooey Claire Deschanel (; born January 17, 1980) is an American actress, singer, and songwriter. She made her film debut in '' Mumford'' (1999) and had a supporting role in Cameron Crowe's film '' Almost Famous'' (2000). Deschanel is known for h ...

Swizz Beatz Kasseem Daoud Dean (born September 13, 1978), known professionally as Swizz Beatz, is an American record producer, rapper, disc jockey (DJ) and songwriter. Born and raised in New York City, Dean embarked on his musical career as a DJ. At the ag ...

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, Spike Jonze,

Joan Smalls Joan Smalls Rodriguez (born July 11, 1988) is a Puerto Rican supermodel and actress. In 2011, she became the first Latina model to represent Estée Lauder cosmetics. In 2013, she entered ''Forbes'' magazine's "World's Highest-Paid Models" list ...

, Lorde,

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and Rihanna. For the Fall 2014 collection, Kenzo collaborated with filmmaker David Lynch, who mixed the soundtrack for the show and provided a large sculpture. For the Fall and Winter 2016 collection, Kenzo produced the campaign film ''The Realest Real'' starring

Laura Harrier Laura Ruth Harrier (born March 28, 1990) is an American actress and model. She began modeling at the age of 17 after she was discovered by a location scout. She moved to New York City where she continued modeling and was represented by agencie ...

Mahershala Ali Mahershala Ali (; born Mahershalalhashbaz Gilmore, February 16, 1974) is an American actor. He has received multiple accolades, including two Academy Awards, a Golden Globe Award and a Primetime Emmy Award. ''Time'' magazine named him one of th ...

Natasha Lyonne Natasha Bianca Lyonne Braunstein ( ; born April 4, 1979) is an American actress, director, writer, and producer. She is known for playing Nicky Nichols on the Netflix comedy-drama series ''Orange Is the New Black'' (2013–2019), for which she ...

, and

Rowan Blanchard Rowan Blanchard (born October 14, 2001) is an American actress and political activist. She was included on a list of ''Times list of Most Influential Teens in 2015. She first became known for starring as Rebecca Wilson in '' Spy Kids: All t ...

, and directed by

Carrie Brownstein Carrie Rachel Brownstein (born September 27, 1974) is an American musician, actress, writer, director, and comedian. She first came to prominence as a member of the band Excuse 17 before forming the rock trio Sleater-Kinney. During a long hiatus ...

. Also in 2016, Sean Baker (

The Florida Project ''The Florida Project'' is a 2017 American coming-of-age drama film directed by Sean Baker and written by Baker and Chris Bergoch. It stars Willem Dafoe, Brooklynn Prince, Bria Vinaite, Valeria Cotto, Christopher Rivera, and Caleb Landry Jon ...

, Red Rocket) directed a short film starring model Abbey Lee called ''Snowbird'' for Kenzo SS16.

Collaborations

In 2016, Kenzo announced its collaboration with H&M. Kenzo X H&M collection was released on November 3, 2016. The fashion house also collaborates with

Inglot Cosmetics Inglot Cosmetics is a Polish cosmetics company headquartered in Przemyśl, south-eastern Poland, specializing in the manufacturing of make-up products. It is considered among the most successful makeup companies in the world which sells its pro ...

company, which manufactures make-up products. On March 21, 2018, Kenzo revealed Britney Spears as the face of its new 'La Collection Memento No. 2' campaign. The collaboration, marketed as #KenzoLovesBritney, features a variety of ready-to-wear nostalgic denim pieces for men and women.

See more

Report

Loïc Prigent,
THE KENZO RENAISSANCE! With NIGO! by Loïc Prigent
', Youtube 9 avril 2022

Designers

, 1970–2020 * Gilles Rosier, 2000–2004 * Antonio Marras, 2004–2011 * Humberto Leon and Carol Lim, 2012–2019 * Felipe Oliveira Baptista, 2019–2021 * Nigo, 2021–present

References

External links

Official site
{{LVMH Clothing brands of France Clothing companies of France Haute couture High fashion brands Fashion accessory brands Perfume houses Clothing companies established in 1970 Design companies established in 1970 1970 establishments in France Luxury brands LVMH brands