okay, a third post, i know i'm spoiling you!
recently, the lovely Charlotte got in contact with me asking if she could guest post over on the blog, so of course i jumped at the chance.
'Charlotte Rivington is a freelance writer and enjoys writing about fashion and sharing her experiences as she travels through the depths of the world, exposing her adventures whilst in search for her clothing. Visit for more information on latest styles of Shoreditch Fashion www.start-london.com.'
her post fits in lovely with the LFW coverage i have been blogging lately, so i hope you all enjoy her post!
'You didn’t need
to scrutinise the outfits of the fashion front row at Paris Fashion Week 2012
for a Kenzo garment; with its thickset, block lettering, the Kenzo logo proudly emblazoned hats and
sweaters with a total disregard for subtlety. There is a reason the Kenzo logo
takes pride in conspicuousness: Kenzo is the label that everyone wants to be
seen in right now.
Kenzo
street style. Image via EcstasyModels Pinterest.
Japanese-born Kenzo Takada first launched
his eponymous label in 1970, presenting his first show at the Vivienne Gallery,
Paris. This venue equally served as the site of Kenzo’s debut store, ‘Jungle
Jap’, a name that connotes the exoticism, worldliness and travel that are an
inherent part of the label. Kenzo was not diffident in front of colour and
print. As an impecunious fledgling designer, Kenzo could only afford to buy
fabrics from flea markets, making the material go further by creating a single
garment out of heterogeneity of vibrant cloth. And this vibrant mood,
accompanied by a sonorous jungle call, is carried through to the label today.
Kenzo
Takada. Image via luxuo.com
Kenzo retired in 1999 and since his
successor, Antonio Marras, left the label in 2008, the ethnic-inspired looks
and energetic style have been put back on the radar by Humberto Leon and Carol
Lim, founders of New York-based Opening Ceremony. While Leon and Lim are
reverent to the traditions of the Kenzo house, they have created collections
that are replete with fun and cheekiness. Leon told Vogue UK that ‘Kenzo, as a brand, has such a rich and fascinating
history, it can be hard to determine what exactly we have changed. With our new
collections, we hope that we have injected the brand with a youthful spirit and
a sense of fun and cheekiness. But we also want to respect and preserve the
traditions of the Kenzo house, such as the importance of prints and the sense
of worldliness and travel that has been intrinsic to every collection in the
history of Kenzo.’ The tiger is Kenzo’s new jungle beast, presiding over the
front of sweaters, open-mouthed and roaring forth the Kenzo logo. An ubiquitous
presence, the tiger prowls around the Kenzo design studio to make cult pieces.
The Kenzo Tiger. Image via
pulse-fashion.ru
The latest Spring/Summer collection
from Leo and Lim features silhouettes shaped by chunky utility belts and safari
suits, dresses and bustier tops that are brought to life by exotic prints and leopard
spots in riotous orange and green and yellow and blue. The makeup of the models
on the Kenzo runway intensified the jungle rave feeling. Every electrifying
shade from MAC Cosmetics Chromaline paint range lined the eyes. Testimony to
the infectious jungle beat of Kenzo, Harvey Nichols now stocks the label for
the first time in its history. And, for Leon and Lim, cult pieces of clothing
is only the beginning: ‘[t]he womenswear and menswear collections have been the
initial steps to fulfil our vision of the Kenzo universe. We hope to branch out
into all aspects of the label eventually - we want Kenzo to not just be a
fashion brand, but a lifestyle brand as well.’ All hail the King of the Jungle.
Kenzo
SS13 runway looks. Images via Vogue UK.'
What's everyones thoughts on the Kenzo collection? Would you like to see more posts like this on the blog?
