K E N ZO TA K A DA

K E N ZO TA K A DA B R I D G I N G T WO FA S H I O N WO R L D S

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We could very well say that the roots of Kenzo Takada’s vision originated from the uprooting that occurred when he left Japan and dived into a journey that, visually, will never end. While his upbringing was deeply “Oriental” his future grammar was constructed focusing on “de-Orientation:” looking at tradition backwards, inventing his own “Orient,” searching the Western world and culture for inspiration and tension. His origin is present in his production and creations as a ghost that disguises itself with every-changing appearances like a traveler seeking to blend into the cultures he is exploring, or like a chameleon disappearing into a different landscape and environment. Kenzo’s fashion philosophy aimed to express the individual necessity for transformation—shedding the skin but never losing his or her own original and unique identity. Kenzo understood people for what we all are: actors on the revolving stage of the theater of the world.

UNTRADITIONAL BEGINNINGS

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With draping you can create on the body the style lines to flow with the body. Drafting up the drape cleans up and corrects the lines for better sewing. If you want a beautiful garment use both together.

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Work on flat patterns

Used for making loose-fitting garments

Geometric shapes

Sharp lines

Does not allow for adjustment

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A NEW APPROACH TO DESIGNING

The Japanese method of drafting that Kenzo employed was like a culture shock to Europeans who were accustomed to draping; drafting resulted in uncalculated abundance and ease of movement, allowing the boy to swim in the garment. Although Kenzo did know how to drape, he made a conscious decision to adopt drafting in his early designs. Later, he combined the traditions of both countries— mixing Japanese technique (drafting) with the fruit of western culture (draping)— and in doing so, breathed some fresh air into the fashion industry in Paris. The drafting method that he had so much trouble learning at school had finally paid off!

Work on mannequin

Used for making form-fitting garments

Organic shapes

Smooth lines

Allows for adjustment

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Kenzo Takada’s work was casual and sympathique. It met the taste of French journalists who favored unpretentious design. The style of mixing two or three different patterns, typical to Japanese kimono, surprised the French.

With inspiration coming from seemingly antithetical sources, made up in garish and deliberately clashing prints and shades, Takada’s clothes have always very boldly led the way for fashionable innovation.

Parisian fashion at the time was dominated by revered couture houses, such as Dior and Chanel. Even one Yves Saint Laurent was seen as an irreverent upstart. Designs were prim, ladylike and aimed squarely at the “bon chic, bon genre” demographic, shown to exclusive audiences in small salon presentations. “All very institutional and stuffy,” adds Marras. “Kenzo shows... opened the way for other, more creative forms of fashion.”

Known for their signature blend of ethnicity and exoticism, Takada’s designs incorporated bright and breezy floral and tribal prints with experiments on volume and tailoring, mixing swatches of garish remaindered fabrics, in an aesthetic that owes as much to haphazard layering as it does to the couture tradition.

A NEW WAY OF PATTERNING

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This book was designed by Mary Yang at Washington University in St. Louis for Visual Information in Fall 2012.

Images and text taken from KENZO by Tamae Armand-Ejima, The Independent (www.independent.co.uk), and BurdaStyle (www.burdastyle.com).

Typefaces include Nobel and The Serif.