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Kenzo Takada, the iconic French-Japanese fashion designer famous for his jungle-infused designs and free-spirited aesthetic that channeled travel around the world, has died. He was 81 years old.
The family said in a statement to French media on Sunday that Takada died of complications from COVID-19 at a hospital in Neuilly-sur-Seine, near Paris.
A public relations officer for the Kenzo brand confirmed that Takada died, but did not give a cause of death.
“It is with immense sadness that KENZO learned of the passing of our founder,” the fashion house said in a statement. “For half a century, Mr. Takada has been an iconic personality in the fashion industry, always infusing creativity and color into the world.”
Takada’s death came at the end of Paris Fashion Week, whose nine-day calendar is kicking off an unusual fashion season for spring-summer 2021 due to the coronavirus pandemic. Just a few days ago, the Kenzo fashion house presented its bee-themed collection here.
FILE – In this March 13, 1998 file photo of Japanese fashion designer Kenzo (center) at the end of the presentation of his Fall / Winter 1998/99 ready-to-wear collection in Paris. Photo: AFP
Although Takada had retired from home since 1999 to pursue a career in art, Kenzo remains one of the most respected figures in Parisian high fashion. Since 1993, the Kenzo brand has been owned by the French luxury goods company LVMH.
“His amazing energy, kindness, talent and smile were contagious,” said Kenzo Artistic Director Felipe Oliveira Baptista, who presented the bee-themed collection to fashion editors on Wednesday. “Your soul mate will live forever.”
Kenzo’s styles used bold colors, contrasting prints, and were inspired by travels around the world. “Kenzo Takada, from the 1970s, infused fashion with a tone of poetic lightness and sweet freedom that inspired many designers after him,” said Bernard Arnault, President and CEO of LVMH.
FILE – In this Dec. 16, 1977 file photo of designer Kenzo Takada kissing the hand of Italian actress Gina Lollobrigida after she honored him as one of the ten most stylish men in the world in Rome, Italy. Photo: AP
Takada was born on February 27, 1939 in Himeji, Hyogo prefecture, Japan, to hoteliers, but after reading her sisters’ fashion magazines, her love for fashion began. Studying at the Bunka College of Fashion in Tokyo, Kenzo Takada worked briefly in Japan, before moving to Paris in 1965, to work as a freelance designer.
In Paris, she took over a boutique in 1970 that crystallized her future ready-to-wear aesthetic, drawing inspiration from the jungle scenes of the painter Henri Rousseau, which she fused with Asian styles. He became influential.
But they were humble beginnings: Takada’s first collection in the so-called store was made entirely of cotton because he had little money. But the clothes spoke for themselves and a model of his was put on the cover of She magazine.
FILE – In this April 7, 2009 file photo, Kenzo Takada in front of his works in an art gallery in Buenos Aires. Photo: Reuters
Shortly thereafter, pioneering shoulder shapes, large armholes, overalls, gown-style dresses, innovative shoulder shapes, and her store appeared in US Vogue. Kenzo showed collections in New York and Tokyo in 1971.
Yves Saint Laurent was a major inspiration in her work, Takada said. Takada shared Saint Laurent’s penchant for theater. in 1978 and 1979, he was shown in a circus tent, and featured himself riding an elephant, and performers rode horses in see-through uniforms.
Takada’s love of travel and use of ethnic influences were strong features in his three decades atop his home. Her contribution to the style was significant. She championed a youthful aesthetic and unstructured form, and eliminated zippers to release silhouettes. Her signatures were wider sleeves and armholes, reminiscent of the historical styles of her Asian continent, her home. – AP
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