Franco- Japanese fashion designer
Kenzo Takada, the iconic Franco- Japanese fashion designer famed for his jungleinfused designs and freespirited aesthetic that channeled global travel, has died. He was 81.
The family said in a statement to French media Sunday that Takada died of complications from COVID- 19 in a hospital in Neuilly- sur- Seine, near Paris. A public relations officer for Kenzo’s brand confirmed that Takada died but didn’t give a cause of death.
“It is with immense sadness that KENZO has learned of the passing of our founder,” the fashion house said in a statement. “For half a century, Mr. Takada has been an emblematic personality in the fashion industry — always infusing creativity and color into the world.”
Though Takada had been retired from his house since 1999 to pursue a career in art, Kenzo remains one of the most respected f ixtures of high Paris fashion. Since 1993, the brand Kenzo has been owned by the French luxury goods company LVMH.
The current designer and artistic director, Felipe Oliveira Baptista, unveiled Kenzo’s spring- summer 2020 line to fashion editors Wednesday.
“His amazing energy, kindness, talent and smile were contagious,” Oliveira Baptista said. “His kindred spirit will live forever.”
Kenzo’s styles used bold color, clashing prints and were inspired by travels around the world.
“Kenzo Takada has, from the 1970s, infused into fashion a tone of poetic lightness and sweet freedom which inspired many designers after him,” said Bernard Arnault, chairman and chief executive of LVMH.
Takada was born Feb. 27, 1939, in Himeji, in the Hyogo prefecture in Japan to hoteliers, but after reading his sisters’ fashion magazines his love of fashion began.
Studying at the Bunka Fashion College in Tokyo, Takada had a brief stint working in Japan before relocating to Paris in 1965 to work as a freelance designer.
In Paris, he took over a boutique in 1970, which served his future ready- to
wear aesthetic, and was inspired in its decoration by the jungle scenes of painter Henri Rousseau, which he merged with Asian styles. It became inf luential.
But it was lowly beginnings: Takada’s f irst collection at the store was made entirely out of cotton because he had little money. But the clothes spoke for themselves, and a model of his was put on the cover of Elle magazine. A short time after, pioneering shoulder forms, large armholes, dungarees, smock tent dresses, innovative shoulder shapes, his store was featured in U. S. Vogue. Kenzo showed collections in New York and Tokyo in 1971.
Yves Saint Laurent was an important inspiration in his work, Takada has said. Takada shared Saint Laurent’s penchant for theatrics. In 1978 and 1979, he showed in a circus tent, appearing riding an elephant.
Takada’s love of travel and use of ethnic inf luences were strong features in his three decades atop his house.
His contribution to style was significant.
He championed a youthful aesthetic and unstructured form, and did away with zippers to liberate silhouettes. His signatures were of wider sleeves and arm holes, that harked to historic styles in his home continent of Asia.