Kenzo Takada is a world famous designer who first proposed the idea of using elements of national costume in Western countries. Popularized the Japanese style.
Kenzo Takada: biography
The future fashion designer was born on February 27, 1939 in the province of Hyogo (Japan). The village where he grew up was very small and poor. His parents had five children, with Kenzo Takada being the youngest child. The family owned a tea house. This is how she earned her living.
As a kid, the fashion designer saw beautiful women's clothing in a famous fashion magazine. They impressed him so much that the young Takada tried to redraw them. Since then, he himself began to invent models of clothes and draw sketches. It all started with outfits for paper dolls.
After graduating from school, Takada, like every young man, had to determine his future fate. He asked his parents to let him study at a fashion school. But they felt that their son was making the wrong choice and sent him to university to study English literature.
However, it took several months for the future fashion designer to finally make sure that he was making the wrong decision. Kenzo Takada leftuniversity and went to Tokyo. Independent life in a foreign city and getting an education required a lot of money, so the guy got a job as an assistant painter. Takada tirelessly washed brushes and primed surfaces for seven dollars. I had to work hard to get the profession of my dreams.
Japan Fashion School
Tokyo has become the starting point of a talented guy on the path to fulfilling his dream. Kenzo Takada entered fashion school and was the only boy there. Before that, only girls studied at this educational institution.
After successfully graduating from school, the fashion designer gets the opportunity to create clothes for the Sanai fashion store. She also works as a fashion model for a local magazine.
Kenzo Takada dreams of going to Paris. He heard a lot about Parisian fashion from his mentor, who had visited the city more than once. Fashion collections, social events and lifestyle inspired the young fashion designer to go crazy.
But in order to go to France, you needed a lot of money. And here the designer was lucky again. The house in which he lived was being demolished, so Takada was paid good compensation. Instead of buying a new home with this money, he spent it on a ticket to Paris.
A long-awaited trip to Paris
Kenzo Takada, once in France, did not know the local language, had no money and no job. However, I felt very happy about it. The designer rented a small room and went to all the fashion shows of Chanel, Dior and Cardin. But after everyThe show just got sadder and sadder. There was practically no hope for a successful future. He understood that the world of fashion is very far from him. It will most likely remain just a pipe dream.
And in order to somehow start fulfilling his desires, Kenzo decided to surprise the audience. Come up with something that no one else has seen. Takada got new inspiration by attending Courrège's show. On it, he saw high fashion, but not the same as usual. She was close to real, everyday life.
The fashion designer began to study hard all the technologies of working with unfamiliar materials and colors. In parallel with this, he creates fashion collections for several stores at the same time. He saved almost all the money to open his own company, which was supposed to bring him enchanting success.
Created the first models made a splash throughout the fashion world. Kenzo used plaid, stripes and animal print, connecting all the details in the most unusual way.
Own brand
In 1975, Kenzo Takada, whose photo you can see in this article, opens his first boutique. But he doesn't do it on his own. His assistant was Atsuko Kondo, a girl who studied with him at the school of fashion designers. In his store, he launched an unusual Japanese-style collection using cotton fabrics.
Kenzo created patterns that were very similar to the Japanese kimono. This greatly amused the Parisian fashion designers. The style that suggestedKenzo, was quite unusual. After all, people are used to wearing tight clothes, not baggy sweaters.
Kenzo's style had its own philosophy. It consisted in the fact that the body needs space not only in the physical sense, but also in the spiritual one. The purpose of his clothes was to hide the human body from prying eyes.
Every year the fashion designer created five new collections, and all of them hit the world of modern fashion. The fashion designer did not use zippers, buttons or other fasteners in his outfits.
Glory
In the late seventies, the fashion designer's shop became the most popular place in Paris. Who is Kenzo Takada, every resident of France knew. And in the eighties, he was able to conquer the entire public, demonstrating his outfits. At the same time, he put on great shows. The fashion designer loved real fun, so he always found a place for it.
In 1983, Kenzo Takada (biography briefly describes this fact) decided to launch a men's clothing line. The designer did not want to change his traditions, so the outfits for the stronger sex were also bright. The fashion designer used rich colors and decorated clothes with drawings and patterns. Kenzo was the first to offer a combination of black trousers with white stripes and a strict jacket decorated with colorful flowers.
About the first fragrances
Kenzo launched its first fragrance in 1987. It was a sweet and exotic fragrance that held Japanese secrets. He became very popular among women and made the fashion designer even more famous.
In the early nineties, the first men's perfume appeared, which was called Pour home. This scent is very popular even today. Of course, both the packaging and the components of the perfume have changed over the years, but the idea remains the same.
Multicultural fashion
Kenzo Takada draws inspiration from the cultures of different countries. Traveling a lot around the world, he finds interesting items of clothing from different peoples. Then he connects them, modernizes and comes up with new styles and images. His work has the greatest number of styles.
Throughout his long and fruitful career, Kenzo has never been involved in scandals. Even in the nineties, when competition was rapidly gaining momentum, the fashion designer strictly adhered to his traditions and did not use scandals to attract attention. Takada had his own life philosophy, which he was able to display in clothes. In his opinion, you need to live in harmony with nature and enjoy the smallest things in life.
New steps
In 1993, the Kenzo brand was at its peak. It was at this time that she entered the LVMH holding. This company owns the most famous French fashion brands. Now "Kenzo" has got here too. Takada was very pleased, because he was able to fully immerse himself in the creative process. Now you do not need to worry about the commercial side of your business. The holding brings the fashion designer a very good and regular income. However, this does not stop him. Kenzo continues to create and strives for new achievements.
A fashion designer in depthsouls always missed his homeland - Japan. Therefore, he recreated it in a reduced copy right in the heart of Paris. He built a small tea house similar to the one his father had, as well as a small goldfish pond.
In 1999, Kenzo decided to leave the fashion world, arguing that he needed to rethink life, relax and gain strength.
In 2002 he returned and delighted the world with new collections. Worked with many brands. Some of them I created myself. In addition, the designer began to create stylish interior items. So it's safe to say that such a talented person was able to cope with his life calling.
Kenzo Takada (the fashion designer's personal life remains a secret) became a Chevalier of the French Order of Literature and Art. He received this award in 1984. So we can assume that, although not completely, he fulfilled the dream of his parents. After all, the order was precisely in literature.
