Guest Post - King of the Jungle

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?