Kenzo Takada, fashion designer and founder of the brand Kenzo, died in Neuilly-sur-Seine, France, from COVID-19. He was 81.
Born in Himeji, Japan, on February 27, 1939, Takada discovered his love for fashion at an early age and enrolled at Bunka Fashion College in Tokyo in 1958.
He eventually moved to Paris in 1965 to pursue a career as a fashion designer.
Though he initially struggled, Takada hit his stride in 1970 and opened up his first storefront in the Galerie Vivienne.
With only $200 worth of fabric to work with, Takada’s first collection was an eclectic mix of bold colours and patterns, which formed his signature style and inspired the store’s name, “Jungle Jap.”
From there, Takada took off. One of his designs was featured on the June 1970 cover of Elle magazine and he presented his collections in both New York City and Tokyo the following year.
In 1976, Takada opened his flagship store for Kenzo in Paris’ iconic Place des Victoires and continued to see success throughout the late ’70s and early ’80s, launching his first men’s collection in 1983 and signing a distribution deal with The Limited in 1984.
