Curious minds have the capacity to create amazing things. This is because they are willing to take risks, and they have imaginations which often exceed everyone else’s expectation. When it comes to fashion, no one would not know of the name Kenzo. Established by Kenzo Takada, who was born in Himeji, Japan in 1939, he was one of the very first Asian designers to go to Paris and design clothes for women in 1964. His clothes soon earned recognition after his first fashion show in Paris in 1972, due to their energetic appearance and bold spirit, which bloomed with patterns and colors like never seen before. 11 years later, Kenzo launched his menswear line.
“Kenzo really created a new way for women to dress,” Humberto Leon exclaimed.
Along with Carol Lim, the duo was appointed as Artistic Directors for Kenzo in 2011. Their curious minds were spotted by Kenzo, right after they have created the sensational New York brand, Opening Ceremony, which was “once a downtown concept shop and cool-kid hang out (which) evolved into a beloved multi-national tribe.”
The two have a shared impulse for clothes, food, art and music – and not to mention, they’re curious. They are interested in authenticity, which is why they often dig deep into their passion, especially when it comes to fashion. “It’s a shared impulse—a fascination with newness, a reverence for tradition—that has united them from the start,” Lim told H&M.
Even though they have earned a name in the world of fashion, they still like to consider themselves as outsiders. I suppose this is how they keep their designs explosive. There is a constant sense of enthusiasm in their works, and it excites their customers. “At the end of the day, the product has to be amazing and people have to want to buy it and wear it—not just for the story, but for how it looks on,” Leon says. “People nowadays have so many options for what they want to wear and how they want to express themselves and that’s great.
For this collaboration with H&M, the duo would like to create pieces which are distinct and deliberate, something that “has its own value and feels special, but at the same time that the collection as a whole feels really united.” This collaboration will definitely be another important project to look out for, and it will be launching worldwide in selected stores and online on the 3rd of November, 2016.
“The more people that discover the brand and come to love the rich history behind the brand and what we’ve created—to us, that’s exciting,” Lim said.