KENZO • Fall/Winter 2024

KENZO MAGIC GALAXY: a universal wardrobe spun from the Occident to the Orient. The KENZO Fall-Winter 2024 Women’s and Men’s Collection evolves the Maison’s new elegance established by Artistic Director Nigo through a study of cross-cultural exchange.

As the custodian of the house built by Kenzo Takada – a fellow Japanese designer in the French capital –Nigo considers the introduction of non-Western influences to the domain of Paris fashion key to his practice. In a cinematic analogy of that transition, Nigo is guided by George Lucas’ use of the samurai films of Akira Kurosawa in the successful creation of the Star Wars universe: an original, complete fantasy culture like no other.

 

 

The exploration unfolds in details and silhouettes rooted in Japanese tradition but infused with the associations of sci-fi-related uniforms: a kimono coat imbued with the lines of a warrior cape, a weave inspired by the wood print of a Japanese hakeshi baten fireman’s jacket evoking an ancient-future graphic, or a plissé dress draped like the cloak of a space fiction heroine.

 

A miniature dot pattern informed by the Edo Komon of fifteenth-century kimonos re-manifests as a star constellation in prints and embroideries. Throughout, nods to the Western utility and military wardrobes materialise in flight jackets, cargo suits and shearling jackets, elusively embedded with the codes of another universe.

 

 

Mirroring the collection’s premise in music, Nigo pays tribute to the late musicians Ryuichi Sakamoto and Yukihiro Takahashi of the Japanese electronic band Yellow Magic Orchestra, known as YMO. In his compositions, Ryuichi Sakamoto took inspiration from Western composers such as Johann Sebastian Bach and Claude Debussy, the latter known to be influenced by Asian music himself.

 

Red gakuran school uniforms, worn by Japanese pupils since 1873 and inspired by those of the West, serve as a salute to YMO, who adapted the suit as stage costumes. Created by the artist Cornelius, who played with YMO during their final tour, the show features an original soundtrack in homage to the band.