Kenzō Takada
高田 賢三
Takada in 2017
Born(1939-02-27)27 February 1939
Himeji, Hyōgo, Japan
Died4 October 2020(2020-10-04) (aged 81)
Neuilly-sur-Seine, Île-de-France, France
Alma materBunka Fashion College
Occupation(s)Fashion designer, film director
Known forFounder of Kenzo
PartnerXavier de Castella
AwardsOrdre des Arts et des Lettres

Kenzō Takada (高田 賢三, Takada Kenzō, [takada kenꜜzoː]; 27 February 1939 – 4 October 2020) was a Japanese fashion designer living in France. He founded Kenzo, a worldwide clothing brand, that also markets skin care and perfumes, Takada was the honorary president of the Asian Couture Federation.

Early life

Takada was born on 27 February 1939 in Himeji, Hyōgo Prefecture. He was one of seven children of Kenji and Shizu Takada,[1][2] who ran a hotel.[3] His love for fashion developed at an early age, particularly through reading his sisters' magazines.[4] In 1957,[5] he briefly attended Kobe City University of Foreign Studies. However, after his father died during Takada's first year at university,[6] he withdrew from the program against his family's wishes.[4] In 1958, he enrolled at Tokyo's Bunka Fashion College, which had then just opened its doors to male students.[7] During his time at Bunka, Takada won a fashion design competition, the Soen Award, in 1961.[7][8]: 122  At this time, Takada gained experience working in the Sanai department store,[4][9] where he designed up to 40 outfits a month as a girl's clothing designer.[10]

Takada was inspired by Paris, especially designer Yves Saint Laurent.[11] His interest in Paris was further fostered by his teacher at Bunka, Chie Koike, who was educated at L'École de la chambre syndicale de la couture parisienne.[8]: 113 [12]: 142  In preparation for the 1964 Summer Olympics, the government demolished Takada's apartment in 1964, providing him with some monetary compensation.[13] Under the advice of his mentor, and using his compensation money, Takada went on a month-long trip by boat to Paris, stopping along the way at various cities like Hong Kong, Saigon, Mumbai, and Marseille.[13][14] He ultimately arrived at the Gare de Lyon train station on 1 January 1965.[7] Takada's first impression of Paris was that it was "dismal and bleak", but began to warm to the city when his taxi took him past the Notre Dame de Paris, which he described as "magnificent".[15]

Fashion career

Bottle of the fragrance Flower by Kenzo

Takada was a fashion maverick, known for his colorful and free-spirited collections that energized the ready-to-wear runways of the French capital starting in the 1970s.[16] Initially, Takada struggled in Paris, selling sketches of designs to fashion houses for 25 F each.[14] He had intended to leave Paris for Japan after a few months, but vowed not to do so until he had created something there, as he was determined to open a boutique fashion house in an area where his peers had not opened one.[7][17] During this time, Takada worked as a stylist at a textile manufacturer named Pisanti.[6][12]: 142 [18]

In 1970, while at a flea market, Takada met a woman who wanted to rent out a small space in the Galerie Vivienne to him cheaply.[3] Takada accepted the offer, and opened up shop as a designer. With very little money to work with, he mixed and matched $200 in fabrics from the Saint Pierre market in Montmartre, creating an eclectic and bold first fashion collection.[3] Takada presented the collection at his first fashion show at the Galerie Vivienne.[19] With no money to afford professional fashion models for the event, Takada and his friends opted to paint the pimples of an acne-covered model green.[3][6]

Inspired by painter Henri Rousseau, and in particular The Dream, Takada painted the interior of his shop with a jungle-like floral aesthetic.[14][20] Wanting to combine the jungle aesthetic with his homeland, the designer decided to name his first store "Jungle Jap".[14] The store's name did not go without controversy: in 1971, the Japanese American Citizens League issued a summons to Takada while on his first visit to the United States, challenging him to remove the word "Jap" from his business's name.[21] However, the State supreme court upheld the ability to use the term as part of a trademark the following year.[22] Takada and his team opted to rename the brand once Takada returned to France.[20]

Takada's efforts paid off quickly – in June 1970, Elle featured one of his designs on its cover.[8]: 117  He moved locations from the Galerie Vivienne to the Passage Choiseul in 1970.[21] Takada's collection was presented in New York City and Tokyo in 1971. The next year, he won the Fashion Editor Club of Japan's prize.[23] In 1973-74, he made perhaps his biggest mark on fashion by leading a silhouette change, loosening and increasing the volume of the popular peasant styles of the time to create what came to be called the "Big Look," with "big" meaning voluminous, soon to become the main high fashion trend of the mid-1970s,[24][25][26][27][28][29] a period during which he was cited as originating a number of major trends.[30][31][32][33][34] In October 1976, Takada opened his flagship store, Kenzo, in the Place des Victoires.[35][36] Takada proved his sense of dramatic appearance when, in 1978 and 1979, he held his shows in a circus tent, finishing with horsewomen performers wearing transparent uniforms and he himself riding an elephant.[37][38] Takada even had the chance to direct a film called Yume, yume no ato, which was released in 1981.[39][40]

Kenzo fashion house in Paris

Takada's business flourished into the 1980s. Kenzo's annual sales grew from 30,000,000 F in 1979, to 240,000,000 F in 1984.[5] Takada's first men's collection was launched in 1983.[4] In August 1984, The Limited Stores announced that they had signed Takada to design a less-expensive clothing line called Album by Kenzo.[41] A children's line called Kenzo Jungle, as well as men's and women's jeans, was released in 1986.[35]

Takada also made ventures into the perfume business. He first experimented with perfumes by releasing King Kong in 1980, which he created "just for fun".[42][43] In 1988, his women's perfume line began with Kenzo de Kenzo (now known as Ça Sent Beau), Parfum d'été, Le monde est beau, and L'eau par Kenzo. Kenzo pour Homme was his first men's perfume (1991).  FlowerbyKenzo, launched in 2000, was listed by Vogue's website as one of the best classic French perfumes of all time.[44] In 2001, a skincare line, KenzoKI was also launched.[45][46]

Since 1993 the brand Kenzo is owned by the French luxury goods company LVMH.[47] In 2016, he created a perfume for Avon.[48]

Retirement from and subsequent activity in the fashion industry

Takada in 2008

Takada announced his retirement in 1999 to pursue a career in art,[4] leaving Roy Krejberg and Gilles Rosier to handle the design of Kenzo's men's and women's clothing, respectively.[49][50] However, in 2005 he reappeared as a decoration designer presenting Gokan Kobo (五感工房 "workshop of the five senses"), a brand of tableware, home objects, and furniture. After a few years off, he wanted to take a new direction, stating "when I stopped working five years ago, I went on vacation, I rested, I traveled. And when I decided to work again, I told myself it would be in decoration, more than fashion."[51] Additionally, in 2013 Kenzo joined the Asian Couture Federation as the organisation's inaugural Honorary President.[52] In 2010 Kenzo's paintings were the subject of a one-man exhibition in Paris titled "Un Certain Style de Vie", A Certain Way of Life".[53]

Takada was made a Knight of the Legion of Honour on 2 June 2016.[36][54] He was further honored by a Lifetime Achievement Award at the 55th Fashion Editors' Club of Japan Awards in 2017.[23] That same year, Takada unveiled a new collection with Roche Bobois, giving its Mah Jong sofa new upholstery and creating a line of ceramics.[55][56] Following his departure from the fashion industry, Takada occasionally ventured back into fashion. In 2019 he designed costumes for a production of Madama Butterfly by the Tokyo Nikikai Opera Foundation.[57] He also used his eye for design in other ways, collaborating with the Mandarin Oriental Jumeira in Dubai to design the hotel's first publicly-displayed Christmas tree during the 2019 holiday season.[58]

In January 2020, Takada announced that he would be launching a new lifestyle brand named K3.[59] The brand made its first appearance on 17 January 2020 at the Maison et Objet trade show, as well as in a Parisian showroom.[60]

Personal life and death

Takada was in a relationship with French architect Xavier de Castella, who died in August 1990[5] from an AIDS-related illness.[61][62][63] De Castella helped design Takada's 1,300-square-meter (14,000-square-foot) Japanese-style house, which started construction in 1987 and was completed in 1993.[64][65]

Takada died on 4 October 2020 from complications from COVID-19 while hospitalized at the American Hospital of Paris in Neuilly-sur-Seine during the COVID-19 pandemic in France.[19][66] He was 81 years old.[67][68]

Awards

References

  1. ↑ Friedman, Vanessa (4 October 2020). "Kenzo Takada, Who Brought Japanese Fashion to the World, Dies at 81". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 6 October 2020.
  2. ↑ "Kenzo Takada obituary". The Irish Times. 6 October 2020. ISSN 0140-0460. Retrieved 6 October 2020.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Dorsey, Hebe (14 November 1976). "Fashion". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 12 June 2019.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 Woolnough, Damien (1 February 2013). "Brand watch: Kenzo Takada". The Australian. Retrieved 10 March 2020.
  5. 1 2 3 Takada Kenzo: Poet of Cotton (Television production). NHK World Japan. 23 January 2021 [2021]. Archived from the original on 4 February 2021. Retrieved 4 February 2021.
  6. 1 2 3 McDonald, Marci (8 August 1977). "All the rage in Paris". Maclean's. Archived from the original on 30 September 2020. Retrieved 12 June 2019.
  7. 1 2 3 4 Lim, Leslie Kay (24 February 2014). "Quintessentially Asian: Fashion designers Kenzo Takada, Junko Koshino". The Straits Times. Archived from the original on 17 February 2015. Retrieved 12 June 2019.
  8. 1 2 3 Kawamura, Yuniya (2004). The Japanese revolution in Paris fashion. Oxford [England]: Berg. ISBN 9781417598021. OCLC 60562175.
  9. ↑ Dirix, Emmanuelle (2016). Dressing the Decades: Twentieth-century Vintage Style. Yale University Press. pp. 170–. ISBN 978-0-300-21552-6.
  10. ↑ Sowray, Bibby (12 March 2012). "Kenzo Takada". British Vogue. Retrieved 10 March 2020.
  11. ↑ Gaignault, Fabrice (28 February 2019). "La jeunesse éternelle de Kenzo Takada". Marie Claire (in French). Retrieved 15 June 2019.
  12. 1 2 Polan, Brenda (2009). The great fashion designers. Tredre, Roger. (English ed.). Oxford: Berg Publishers. ISBN 9780857851741. OCLC 721907453.
  13. 1 2 La Torre, Vincenzo (14 March 2019). "Fashion legend Kenzo Takada's amazing life revealed in new book". South China Morning Post. Retrieved 12 June 2019.
  14. 1 2 3 4 Cook, Grace (31 January 2019). "Kenzo Takada — the journey from 'Jungle Jap' to Kenzo". Financial Times. Archived from the original on 11 December 2022. Retrieved 12 June 2019.
  15. ↑ "Book on Kenzo traces how he 'dressed up' Paris with colour, flowing lines". The Straits Times. 16 November 2018. Retrieved 12 June 2019.
  16. ↑ Carter, Lee (17 April 2023). "With Its Serene Japanese Garden in the Middle of Paris, the Famed Home of Fashion Designer Kenzō Takada Has Come to Market". Artnet News. Retrieved 19 April 2023.
  17. ↑ Vicente, Álex (28 October 2018). "Kenzo: "Lamento haber vendido mi marca. Fue un largo luto que ahora llevo mejor" | Moda". S Moda EL PAÍS (in European Spanish). Retrieved 12 June 2019.
  18. ↑ "KENZO". Encyclopædia Universalis (in French). Retrieved 15 June 2019.
  19. 1 2 Goillandeau, Martin (4 October 2020). "Designer Kenzo Takada, founder of Kenzo, dies of Covid-19 aged 81". CNN. Retrieved 4 October 2020.
  20. 1 2 Breeze, Amanda (8 February 2019). "interview | kenzo takada". Schön! Magazine. Retrieved 15 June 2019.
  21. 1 2 Morris, Bernadine (12 July 1972). "Designer Does What He Likes—And It's Liked". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 12 June 2019.
  22. ↑ "Court Here Upholds 'Jap' as Trademark". The New York Times. 29 June 1971. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 12 June 2019.
  23. 1 2 Wetherille, Kelly (31 March 2017). "Kenzo Takada Receives Lifetime Achievement Award". WWD. Retrieved 15 June 2019.
  24. ↑ Morris, Bernadine (4 April 1973). "Kenzo Displays His Imagination With a Fun-Filled Show in Paris". The New York Times: 38. Retrieved 31 December 2021. The models wore big, bulky sweaters over full dirndl skirts in gray flannel, tent dresses and tent coats and pleated dresses with embroidered white petticoats worn under them....[H]emlines ranged from below the knee to above the ankle...These long skirts have a certain kick to them. They're very full, even the flannel ones.
  25. ↑ Salmans, Sandra (25 August 1974). "Seventh Avenue". The New York Times: 96. Retrieved 10 December 2021. ...[T]he Big Look...was pioneered in Paris a year ago [1973] by Kenzo Takada...with absurdly large skirts and coats....[T]he look features long skirts, dropped shoulders, dolman sleeves and large armholes, blouson jackets, blowing capes, and loose dresses–all laid on with layers of fabric.
  26. ↑ Mulvagh, Jane (1988). "1974". Vogue History of 20th Century Fashion. London, England: Viking, the Penguin Group. p. 337. ISBN 0-670-80172-0. Kenzo anticipated a major change this winter by creating a full, circular skirt, easily caught by the wind...The replacement of the short, kicky skirt by the longer, fuller style was the most important change in the silhouette...The new coat and cape shapes were also looser, fuller and longer – the hemline was anywhere from 3 inches below the knee to the ankle. This voluminous, unconstructed style was christened the 'Big Look'.
  27. ↑ Mulvagh, Jane (1988). "1975". Vogue History of 20th Century Fashion. London, England: Viking, the Penguin Group. p. 339. ISBN 0-670-80172-0. By the autumn, the Big Look had gained wider acceptance...Miyake and Kenzo concentrated on the new line. 'Much too big is the right size,' as Kenzo put it. He produced larger-than-life, loose, casual clothes – smocks, tent dresses and huge striped dungarees...The loose smock dress was also found at Rykiel, Muir, Saint Laurent, Burrows and Calvin Klein.
  28. ↑ Mulvagh, Jane (1988). "1976-1986". Vogue History of 20th Century Fashion. London, England: Viking, the Penguin Group. p. 342. ISBN 0-670-80172-0. ...[B]y 1976 the Big Look – large, layered, peasant-inspired dressing – dominated Vogue...
  29. ↑ Larkin, Kathy (1979). "Fashion". 1979 Collier's Yearbook Covering the Year 1978. Crowell-Collier Publishing Company. pp. 249–251. [1978] began with women submerged under layers of soft shapeless clothing (unlined, unconstructed jackets, loose shirts and vests, and skirts spreading wide...)....The well-dressed woman started the year wearing soft, billowy, layered styles...
  30. ↑ Dorsey, Hebe (14 November 1976). "Fashion". The New York Times: 239. Retrieved 4 April 2022. ...[H]e is widely imitated. Many fashion authorities credit Kenzo with starting such recent trends as kimono sleeves, the layered look, folklore fashion, winter cotton, the explosion of bright colors, vests, baggy pants and workers' clothes.
  31. ↑ Hyde, Nina S. (1 November 1977). "Paris Fashions in the Fall: Big is Best". The Washington Post. Retrieved 10 December 2021. The favorite togs of young fashion-conscious women this fall on the Boulevard Saint Germain...are oversized jackets and vests, big, sloppy V-neck sweaters, ties and men's hats, floppy skirts and pegged corduroy pants....[T]he look has less to do with the [Woody Allen] film [Annie Hall] than with an oversize menswear look for women initiated by Paris designer Kenzo...
  32. ↑ Mulvagh, Jane (1988). "1976". Vogue History of 20th Century Fashion. London, England: Viking, the Penguin Group. p. 353. ISBN 0-670-80172-0. The waistline had dropped to the hip and was typically swathed with jersey or emphasized by a low-slung belt. Kenzo was the instigator of this change...
  33. ↑ Dorsey, Hebe (14 November 1976). "Fashion". The New York Times: 239. Retrieved 4 April 2022. The hottest news from the Paris spring prêt‐à‐porter collections is the mini. And the man who put it back in the spotlight is Kenzo....There were short skirts with balloon tops, caught under a low belt; some skirts then swirled out, but others, neat and tapered, were just little wraparounds.
  34. ↑ Morris, Bernadine (28 November 1976). "Paris Report". The New York Times: 237. Retrieved 10 March 2022. [The mini']s most dramatic form is the voluminous smock that Kenzo devised, always belted at the hips.
  35. 1 2 Herold, Stephanie Edith (2015). "Kenzo Takada". Fashion Photography Archive. Bloomsbury. doi:10.5040/9781474260428-fpa102. ISBN 9781474260428.
  36. 1 2 3 Guilbault, Laure (3 June 2016). "France Honors Kenzo Takada". WWD. Retrieved 16 June 2019.
  37. ↑ "Kenzo: star of the east". The Independent. 4 December 2010. Retrieved 15 June 2019.
  38. ↑ Nelson, Karin (1 August 2012). "In Living Color". W Magazine. Retrieved 15 June 2019.
  39. ↑ "Yume, Yume No Ato (1981)". BFI. Retrieved 16 June 2019.
  40. ↑ Yoshiharu Tezuka (1 November 2011). Japanese Cinema Goes Global: Filmworkers' Journeys. Hong Kong University Press. pp. 176–. ISBN 978-988-8083-32-9.
  41. ↑ "Kenzo to Do Inexpensive Line". The New York Times. 14 August 1984. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 16 June 2019.
  42. ↑ Hyde, Nina S. (15 April 1979). "Fashion Notes". The Washington Post. Retrieved 16 June 2019.
  43. ↑ Bauck, Whitney (29 June 2017). "Kenzo Takada on His Very Creative Life Before, During and After Founding Kenzo". Fashionista. Retrieved 16 June 2019.
  44. ↑ Piercy, Catherine (30 September 2016). "The Best Classic French Perfumes of All Time". Vogue. Retrieved 15 June 2019.
  45. ↑ Douglas, Joanna (5 October 2015). "Kenzo's Skin Care Line Hits the States; Worth the Wait". www.yahoo.com. Retrieved 15 June 2019.
  46. ↑ Petit, Elodie (8 August 2008). "Kenzo Parfums souffle ses 20 bougies ! - Elle". elle.fr (in French). Retrieved 15 June 2019.
  47. ↑ "LVMH buys Kenzo apparel maker". UPI. Retrieved 4 October 2020.
  48. ↑ "Avon Life by Kenzo Takada for Him Avon cologne - a fragrance for men 2016". www.fragrantica.com. Retrieved 4 October 2020.
  49. ↑ Quintanilla, Michael (8 October 1999). "Kenzo Bids Fashion Adieu". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 11 March 2020.
  50. ↑ Menkes, Suzy (14 September 1999). "Gilles Rosier: On to Kenzo". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 11 March 2020.
  51. ↑ "Paris-based designer Kenzo Tanaka back in the spotlight". sawfnews.com. Archived from the original on 15 April 2012. Retrieved 27 March 2012.
  52. ↑ Hong, Xinying (15 October 2013). "Kenzo Takada: Asian fashion designers can become the next trendsetters". Her World Plus. Her World. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 15 July 2014.
  53. ↑ "Kenzo Takada First Painting Exhibition". LUXUO. 17 June 2010.
  54. ↑ Sciola, Giulia (21 November 2018). "Chi è Kenzo Takada, tigre gentile della moda". Esquire (in Italian). Retrieved 16 June 2019.
  55. ↑ Luckel, Madeleine (30 June 2017). "Legendary Designer Kenzo Takada Unveils a New Line for Home". Vogue. Retrieved 2 July 2020.
  56. ↑ Eckardt, Stephanie (29 June 2017). "Catching Up with Kenzo Takada, the OG Founder of Kenzo Who Is Designing Under His Own Name Again at 78". W Magazine | Women's Fashion & Celebrity News. Retrieved 2 July 2020.
  57. ↑ Lee, Jae (29 September 2019). "Kenzo Takada adds to a legacy of operatic style". The Japan Times Online. ISSN 0447-5763. Retrieved 10 March 2020.
  58. ↑ Shaikh, Ayesha Sohail Shehmir (26 November 2019). "This Fashion Icon Will Design Mandarin Oriental Jumeira, Dubai's First Christmas Tree". Harper's BAZAAR Arabia. Retrieved 10 March 2020.
  59. ↑ Nedbaeva, Olga (23 January 2020). "Kenzo dreams up another design classic". Asia Times. Retrieved 10 March 2020.
  60. ↑ Burlet, Fleur (10 January 2020). "Kenzo Takada Unveils Lifestyle Brand". WWD. Retrieved 10 March 2020.
  61. ↑ "Kenzo Takada: "Farben trage ich nur im Urlaub" - derStandard.at". Der Standard (in Austrian German). 18 November 2012. Retrieved 15 June 2019.
  62. ↑ "Rire à capri, mourir à venise". L'Humanité (in French). 27 October 1990. Retrieved 15 June 2019.
  63. ↑ Boulay, Anne (9 December 1999). "Kenzo Takada, 60 ans, quitte le monde de la mode et ses fleurs pour se concocter une existence sans soucis. Au Japonais absent". Libération.fr (in French). Archived from the original on 25 February 2020. Retrieved 15 June 2019.
  64. ↑ Rafferty, Jean (14 December 2007). "The house Kenzo built". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 15 June 2019.
  65. ↑ Zahid Sardar (16 October 2014). In & Out of Paris: Gardens of Secret Delights. Gibbs Smith. pp. 134–. ISBN 978-1-4236-3271-9.
  66. ↑ Friedman, Vanessa (4 October 2020). "Kenzo Takada, Who Brought Japanese Fashion to the World, Dies at 81". The New York Times.
  67. ↑ "Le créateur japonais Kenzo Takada est mort des suites du Covid-19". BFMTV.
  68. ↑ White, Sarah (4 October 2020). "Japanese fashion designer Kenzo Takada dies from COVID-19". Reuters – via www.reuters.com.
  69. ↑ "KENZO ケンゾー 高田賢三" [Kenzo]. Fashion Street (in Japanese). Retrieved 5 October 2020.
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