Kenzo

The creative mind and revolutionary designer behind the Japanese fashion brand Kenzo is Kenzō Takada, born in 1939. His parents ran a hotel while he studied fashion design in Tokyo after leaving school and moved to Paris in 1965. He began showing off his own designs, and was able to present his first collection in 1970. Kenzo's collections quickly emerged worldwide through fashion shows, fairs and boutiques. The prêt-à-porter fashion of Kenzo strongly impacted the fashion world due to the unusual fabrics, bold colors and urban patterns. The brand also chose impressive and one-of-a-kind locations for its presentations, such as circuses or "Studio 54". And finally, after expanding his women’s line, Takada also turned to men's fashion in 1983. In 1988, Kenzo created the first women's fragrances, followed by men's fragrances three years later. Due to Takada's Japanese roots, the fragrances had a distinctly Far Eastern character with floral-fruity aromas. After all the fragrances had properly positioned themselves in the market, Takada ended his career in 1993 and sold Kenzo to "LVMH" for about 70 million euros. Takada, who was awarded several times for his cultural contribution and humanitarian work, passed away in 2020 due to coronavirus-related complications. Kenzo's collections and fragrances are found in upscale retail stores (Galeria, Douglas), KENZO boutiques, and online.