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| Company type | Société Anonyme / Subsidiary of public company |
|---|---|
| Industry | Fashion |
| Founded | 1970 |
| Founder | Kenzo Takada |
| Headquarters | , |
Key people | Nigo (Artistic Director) |
| Owner | LVMH |
| Website | www |
| Footnotes /references [1] | |
Kenzo (stylized as KENZO PARIS) is a French luxury fashion house founded in 1970 by Japanese designer Kenzo Takada and owned by parent company LVMH. [2]
Kenzo Takada was born in Japan and moved to Paris in 1964 to start his fashion career. [3] He then became known for using Asian influenced style with the construction of European fashion. He started with a 'Jungle Jap' boutique located at Galerie Vivienne and decorated in jungle inspired interior. He began with handmade women's clothing; reportedly, he made his first collection with $200 worth of fabrics bought at a large discount house in Montmartre. [4] The brand became Kenzo after a fashion show in New York in 1976, as the American market considered 'Jungle Jap' too pejorative. [5]
In 1983, Kenzo started designing men and then kids and home collections in 1987, followed by fragrances in 1988. [5]
In 1993, luxury-products maker LVMH acquired Kenzo from SEBP and Financière Truffaut for about $80 million. [6] From 1995, Kenzo also produced Kenzo Studio, a line was produced through a licensing agreement with the Bonaventure Group. While Kenzo developed the line's fashion direction, Studio was sold only in the U.S. and Kenzo retail stores in China. [7]
From 1999 until 2003, Gilles Rosier and Roy Krejberg designed the women's and men's lines, respectively. [8]
From 2006 until 2008, over 100 of Kenzo's stores worldwide were refurbished. [9]
From 2008 until 2011, Antonio Marras served as Kenzo's creative director, overseeing the brand in its entirety. [9] [10] By 2011, Kenzo barely broke even, with annual sales estimated at 150 million euros ($197.4 million). [11] [12]
In 2011, Carole Lim and Humberto Leon of Opening Ceremony were appointed co-creative directors. [13] The pair was credited with revitalizing the Kenzo brand and making it appeal to a younger customer, as well as re-defining and expanding the role of a fashion creative director to encompass all elements of creative work at a brand, not just designing the garments. [14]
By 2017, Kenzo built the accessories and shoe business to almost 30 percent of revenues. [15] Lim and Leon exited Kenzo in 2019. [16] Also in 2019, Kenzo ended its distribution agreement with I.T to take back control of its 35 stores in China via a joint venture with the same partner. [17] Under the creative direction of Felipe Oliveira Baptista, Kenzo launched a line of men's and women's sportswear, titled Kenzo Sport. [18] In April 2021, Kenzo said it would part ways with Oliveira Baptista by the end of his term in June. [19]
In September 2021, Kenzo appointed Nigo of A Bathing Ape as their new artistic director. [20] [21] [22]
Kenzo has expanded rapidly in the time since its first American store has opened, as of June 2021 it now operates 6 locations in the US:
In June 2020, Kenzo unveiled its first American flagship store in SoHo, Manhattan. [25] [26]
Additionally it has nearly 145 stores worldwide primarily concentrated in Southeast Asia, Japan and Europe. [24]
The character Kenzo Harper in the BBC sitcom My Family is named after the fashion brand. In 2012, designers Humberto Leon and Carol Lim unveiled a knitted sweater with a tiger graphic on it for Kenzo's Fall 2012 collection. [27] [28] Leon wanted to make a sweatshirt version of the sweater for him to wear. [29] [30] Despite initial resistance from Kenzo's design team, [31] [32] the tiger sweatshirts became extremely popular, with the initial run of sweatshirts selling out within hours at Kenzo's Paris location. [31] Since 2011, the tiger shirt and clothing designed by Leon and Lim [33] [34] has been worn by celebrities and fashion bloggers including Jay Z, Kevin Hart, Beyoncé, Zooey Deschanel, Swizz Beatz, Selena Gomez, Spike Jonze, Joan Smalls, Lorde, NorthernSound and Rihanna.[ citation needed ]
For the Fall 2014 collection, Kenzo collaborated with filmmaker David Lynch, who mixed the soundtrack for the show and provided a large sculpture. [35]
For the Fall and Winter 2016 collection, Kenzo produced the campaign film The Realest Real starring Laura Harrier, Mahershala Ali, Natasha Lyonne, and Rowan Blanchard, and directed by Carrie Brownstein. [36] [37] Also in 2016, Sean Baker (The Florida Project, Red Rocket) directed a short film starring model Abbey Lee called Snowbird for Kenzo SS16. [38]
In 2016, Kenzo announced its collaboration with H&M. Kenzo X H&M collection was released on November 3, 2016. [39] The fashion house also collaborates with Inglot Cosmetics company, which manufactures make-up products. [40] On March 21, 2018, Kenzo revealed Britney Spears as the face of its new 'La Collection Memento No. 2' campaign. [41] The collaboration, marketed as #KenzoLovesBritney, features a variety of ready-to-wear nostalgic denim pieces for men and women. [42]
Kenzo’s artistic director Nigo, who is known for his taste in music, has selected Vernon, one of 13 members of South Korean boy band Seventeen as the first global ambassador for the French house, announced in June 2023. [43]
Fendi is an Italian luxury fashion house producing fur, ready-to-wear, leather goods, shoes, fragrances, eyewear, timepieces and accessories. Founded in Rome in 1925, Fendi is known for its fur, fur accessories, and leather goods. Since 2001, Fendi has been part of the “Fashion & Leather Goods” division of the French group LVMH. Its headquarters are in Rome, in the Palazzo della Civiltà Italiana.
LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton, commonly known as LVMH, is a French multinational holding and conglomerate specializing in luxury goods, headquartered in Paris. The company was formed in 1987 through the merger of fashion house Louis Vuitton with Moët Hennessy, which was established following the 1971 merger between the champagne producer Moët & Chandon and the cognac producer Hennessy. In April 2023, LVMH became the first European company to surpass a valuation of $500 billion. In 2023, the company was ranked 47th in the Forbes Global 2000.
Givenchy is a French luxury fashion and perfume house. It hosts the brand of haute couture and ready-to-wear clothing, accessories, perfumes and cosmetics of Parfums Givenchy. The house of Givenchy was founded in 1952 by designer Hubert de Givenchy and is a member of Chambre Syndicale de la Haute Couture et du Prêt-à-Porter. It is currently owned by luxury conglomerate LVMH.
Bunka Fashion College is a Japanese vocational school specializing in fashion design and related disciplines. It is headquartered in Shinjuku, Tokyo, and has more than 70 branches throughout Japan.
Kenzō Takada was a Japanese fashion designer living in France. He founded Kenzo, a worldwide clothing brand, that also markets skin care and perfumes, Takada was the honorary president of the Asian Couture Federation.
Berluti is a French leather maker that manufactures menswear, especially the leather finishing of calfskin, kangaroo leather and alligator skin in its production of shoes and boots. It makes leather belts, bags, and wallets, as well as bespoke and ready-to-wear garments. Established in 1895 by Italian Alessandro Berluti of Marche, Berluti is based in Paris on rue Marbeuf. The brand was bought by LVMH in 1993. The latest creative director was Kris Van Assche (2018-2021).
Loewe is a Spanish luxury fashion house specialising in leather goods, clothing, perfumes and other fashion accessories. Founded in 1846 in Madrid, Loewe is part of LVMH since 1996, and is the oldest luxury fashion house of the holding.
Celine is a French luxury fashion house founded in 1945 by designer Céline Vipiana. The headquarters are located at 16 rue Vivienne in the 2nd arrondissement of Paris at the Hôtel Colbert de Torcy, which has French Historic Monument classification. Séverine Merle has been the Chief Executive Officer since April 2017.
Nigö is a Japanese fashion designer, disc jockey (DJ), record producer and entrepreneur. He is best known as the creator of the streetwear brand, A Bathing Ape (Bape), and currently serves as artistic director for Kenzo. Additionally he is a member of the Japanese group Teriyaki Boyz, serving as their official in-house DJ since the group's 2005 debut.
Tao Okamoto, known professionally as Tao, is a Japanese actress and model, who is, alongside Ai Tominaga and Hiroko Matsumoto, one of the biggest models from Japan. In 2009, she was one of the faces of Ralph Lauren.
Felipe Oliveira Baptista is a Portuguese fashion designer. He lives and works in Paris.
Risto Bimbiloski is a Macedonian fashion designer based in Paris, founder and creative director of Risto. He defines his style as Acidchique.
Antoine Arnault is a French businessman; the vice-chairman and former CEO of Christian Dior SE. He is the oldest son of billionaire and CEO of LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton, Bernard Arnault, part of the Arnault Family, which is the second wealthiest in the world.
Carol Lim is an American fashion designer, retailer and creative director, who works in partnership with Humberto Leon.
Pierre-Yves Roussel is CEO of Tory Burch LLC, a role he assumed in 2019. He was previously the chairman and chief executive officer of LVMH Fashion Group and a member of the LVMH Executive Committee before moving into an advisory role at the luxury conglomerate in 2018.
Humberto Leon is an American fashion designer, retailer and creative director, working in partnership with Carol Lim.
Virgil Abloh was an American fashion designer and entrepreneur. He began his own line of luxury streetwear clothing, Pyrex Vision, in 2012, and became the chief executive officer of the Milan-based label Off-White, a fashion house he founded in 2013. Abloh was also the artistic director of Louis Vuitton's menswear collection beginning in 2018, and was given increased creative responsibilities across the LVMH brand in early 2021.
Opening Ceremony is a fashion brand founded in 2002 by Carol Lim and Humberto Leon. The brand designs and creates its own products and also retails other emerging fashion labels. During the COVID-19 pandemic the company announced it would close all its physical stores. Opening Ceremony was one of the first retail shops to carry Havaianas and Topshop products, and has carried Alexander Wang, Comme Des Garcons, Proenza Schouler and Rodarte.
Fenty was a fashion brand of ready-to-wear founded by Rihanna under the luxury fashion group LVMH. Fenty was launched in May 2019. The fashion label made Rihanna the first woman and also the first person of colour to head a luxury brand for the LVMH group. Fenty was closed in 2021.
Yoon Ahn is an American businesswoman and fashion designer. She studied graphic design at Boston University and graduated in 2000. She is known as the creative director of her brand Ambush and as Dior Men's jewelry design director. Ahn is currently based in Tokyo, Japan.
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