Kenzo

An extraordinary collectible, Kenzo creatively presents forty years of the Paris-based fashion house, founded by Japanese designer Kenzo Takada and now in a resurgence under artistic director Antonio Marras.

Established in 1970 by Kenzo Takada, who had arrived in Paris from Japan in 1965, Kenzo is one of the great French houses that transformed global fashion in the latter half of the twentieth century. Now under the artistic directorship of Antonio Marras, KENZO has again achieved critical and popular acclaim. Marras draws from the rich vein of Kenzo tradition as it engages the spirit of the new century. Armed with an unmatched vocabulary in prints and textiles, Marras mines both East and West, the present and the past, to create a collection that evokes, reveres, and reinvents the intentions of its founder.

The highlights of Takada’s tenure until his retirement in 1999 are also documented here. The first monograph on KENZO, this lavish volume comes in a real fabric cover, available in three different patterns, and with a pop-up that evokes the romantic textiles, envelopes, and paper craft for which the house’s fashion collection invitations are known.  Additional special features include three double-sided double gatefolds, folding out to the equivalent of eight pages, and three accordian gatefolds, folding out to five pages.  This book is truly an art object in and of itself.

About the Author

Antonio Marras was appointed designer of Kenzo’s women’s ready-to-wear collection in 2003, and in 2008 assumed artistic directorship of the entire brand. Bartabas is a renowned equestrian and performer who currently directs the Academy of Equestrian Arts at Versailles. Catherine Ormen is a curator and has written several books on fashion. Olivier Saillard is a curator at the Museum of Decorative Arts in Paris and writes on fashion. Bradley Quinn is an author and journalist with expertise in fashion, textiles, and design. Francesco Bonami is a curator, writer, and critic.