September 28, 2017 |
Kenzo always know how to put on a fashion show that is more than just a fashion show, or, in this case, a lot more than just a fashion show, being as said show also involved a three-part Japanese Kagura performance – dragons, swords and such. We would elaborate but… well, I think you had to be there. All very good, though, obviously – speaking to this brilliant knack Humberto and Carol have of bringing East and West together in a way not so dissimilar as the brand’s founder, Kenzo Takada, made his name doing in the 1980s. He’s at the heart of their “Memento” collections – a sort of added extra that sits alongside their full men’s and womenswear offering shown during men’s week – the pair looking straight back to the archive for the collection, re-making original pieces or re-interpreting shapes, fabrics or photographs.
This time it was about denim – the pair looking back to the Japanese designer’s first forays into the fabric. Which – logically – meant denim. Lots of denim. Boxy top-stitched shirting was worn matching pinafore style skirts in the fabric, kimono-cuts were re-mixed up with turned-up carpenter-cut jeans. There was a workwear feel to it – clothes built to be worn, and last too. All compounded with some brilliant prints – bamboo, Hawaiian, floaty digital clouds. A nod to tradition yes – but still entirely new. “This collection being a mix of inspirations from Asia to America, is a tribute to self-expression. For us, as Americans, now more than ever, it’s time to celebrate diversity and free-thinking,” say the pair. They’ve trodden their own path of late, and Kenzo’s looking all the better for it.
Photographs by Jason Lloyd-Evans
