Franco-Japanese fashion legend Kenzo Takada lifts the veil on colourful legacy in new book
Nearly 20 years after the designer’s retirement, the book plots his journey from arriving in Paris in 1965 through sketches, photos and memories until his last runway show in 1999
Kenzo Takada, the Franco-Japanese designer who retired at the height of his colourful career nearly 20 years ago, now wants to show the world how he came up with the groundbreaking designs that helped catapult a wave of Japanese creators onto the Paris stage.
After years of taking time for himself, “I again needed to do something, to work,” he says.
“I am very happy, but at times I feel nostalgic.”
The result is a new book tracing his trajectory since arriving in France as a young man in 1965 with dreams of bringing his designs to life in the fashion world’s beating heart.
Kenzo Takada delves into his French adventure with more than 40 years of sketches, photos and memories, up to his final runway show at Paris’ Zenith concert hall in 1999.
The highlight is undoubtedly a previously unreleased photo essay taking readers through the creation of an exquisite wedding gown from his fall and winter collection of 1982-83.
“We started just two days before the show!” Takada says.
“The theme of this collection was flowers. This wedding dress, draped in garlands of flowers, was the very image of the collection, a sort of symbol.”