Kenzō

The Japanese fashion designer Kenzō Takada came to Paris in 1965, worked for various fashion manufacturers.

Kenzō Takada founded his own fashion company in 1970 together with his business partner Gilles Raysse and Japanese friends. Raysse was the head of the Franco-Japanese company and served as managing director of Takada’s company.

Inspired by painter Henri Rousseau, and in particular The Dream, Takada painted the interior of his shop with a jungle-like floral aesthetic. Wanting to combine the jungle aesthetic with his homeland, the designer decided to name his first store Jungle Jap. 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. However, the State supreme court upheld the ability to use the term as part of a trademark the following year. Takada and his team opted to rename the brand once Takada returned to France.

Kenzo design Gallery

Kenzo design

Takada’s colorful and cheerful fashion in unconventional color and pattern combinations, often decorated with floral motifs, always combined – often inspired by private travel – ‘Asian influences with European chic’. In 1983, Takada expanded into menswear. The clothing portfolio was also expanded to include the secondary lines Kenzo Studio, Kenzo Jungle and Kenzo Jeans as well as children’s fashion.