kenzo takada

japanese fashion designer from paris born in 1939

became famous in the 70s

kenzo is the the first japanese fashion designer to be recognized by the almost unattainable and extremely elite parisian fashion world in the 1970s. he moved to paris from japan in 1964 as a freelance designer, and in 1970 he opened his first store called “jungle jap” –which was a tremendous hit for its exotic and fantastic style.

he helped revolutionize the concept of ready-to-wear — stylish wearable clothing–along with peers karl lagerfeld and sonia rykiel. he innovated design by combining japanese patterned fabrics with parisian flea market finds to create an assembled but modernistic layered look.

his signature look is: colorful, vivacious, exotic and ethnically-inspired, folklore

a bit too frilly and fussy for me, as i tend to like more structure, form and solid colors, but very inspirational nonetheless in the way the patterns are used together and the happy and carefree feeling that the looks create. the newer pieces with more solid bright colors are a little bit of a departure from his older work but interesting in the way odd colors are combined to create an almost playful and childlike visual image.

kenzo and a power plate he designed