Kenzo Takada Talks Opera Costume Design, Carol Lim and Humberto Leon and Cultural Appropriation

In New York for the U.S. debut of his self-titled book, Kenzo Takada wasn’t really eager to talk about himself. Self promotion and nostalgia do not enthrall him. The designer was more energized, and at times puzzled, in discussing the current state of fashion. The Japanese-born Takada first arrived in Paris in 1965 and unveiled his first shop Jungle Jap in Galerie Vivienne in 1970. In the years that followed he embedded creative freedom, diversity, see-now-buy-now and collaborations into his design ethos. Surprised to learn that his name was referenced in a 1969 WWD article highlighting up-and-coming Japanese designers like Masaaki Kawashima and Hanae Mori, Takada said, “I hadn’t started yet.” Even though he stepped away from his namesake company in 1999 and it’s now owned by LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton, Takada said he still loves fashion and toys with the idea of a capsule collection. On Tuesday morning, the Paris-based designer offered his views about Kenzo’s current design duo Carol Lim and Humberto Leon, and analysis of fashion’s leading talents. A description provided by a member of his inner circle of his being quite shy, very humble and discrete proved true, based on his enthusiasm for questions that pertained to anything

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from WWDWWD http://bit.ly/2IAvCex