Iconic products

Tiger sweatshirt

The tiger sweatshirt became iconic under Humberto Leon and Carol Lim’s period. The duo wanted to introduce archival designs and prints. The tiger is an iconic figure that was first introduced by Kenzo Takada. Through the streetwear evolution of the brand, this sweatshirt shaped that era.

Nail enamel for men (Ingot collaboration)

This collaboration appeared behind the scenes at Paris Fashion week in 2017. This collaboration brought about the iconic nail enamel for men. The nail art theme for the show was inspired by auroras of Iceland.

Kimono

The kimono is a key design style introduced by Kenzo Takada. The designer incorporates his Japanese heritage into modern day designs.

The Jungle Jap print is inspired by Keno’s first store called Jungle Jap (Po, 2020). The chosen name represents a perfect blend of his Japanese origins and the jungle, a place that fascinates the designer with its lush and wild nature - a nature from which the prints of his clothes seem to spring. Painted on the walls of this shop were flowers, plants and junipers (Po, 2020).

“The Dream” painting by Henri Rousseau also inspired the theme of Jungle Jap. This painting included an artwork that immersed the viewer into a wild and mysterious nature, dark and lush, populated by unknown flowers and animals (Po, 2020).

Iconic Material Denim

Kenzo is widely known for using cotton as his main source of material in his designs, this is due to the fabric being so reasonably priced. When Kenzo first started designing, he spent $200 on materials from a discount fabric house (Kenzo Takada 1939–2020, 2020). The fabric also allowed him to create pleats and silhouettes which he became popular for.

The use of Denim cotton is a significant material due to the history of the brand and has become an iconic identifier whilst discussing Kenzo.

Cotton

Cotton is the main material used throughout the Kenzo designs, still to this day. The founder of the KENZO brand eschewed silk for cotton, and elevated free and natural pret-a-porter apparel over expensive custom clothes (Kenzo Takada 1939–2020, 2020).

He revolutionised the industry by frequently using cotton, a fabric rarely used in high fashion at the time, except for summer items. His goal was to make clothing for women to wear not for special occasions but for when they “use public transportation alone.”

Iconic Perfume Flower by Kenzo

This perfume was launched in 2000 (The iconic Flower By Kenzo celebrates its 20th anniversary, 2020), in celebration of the brand’s 20th anniversary. This fragrance is a tribute to its Japanese roots. The perfume is intimately linked to the evocative power of a flower, the poppy, the symbol of a fragrance that embodies softness, simplicity and joy. Flower By Kenzo was conceived as a fusion between nature and the city.

ICONIC COLLABORATIONS

Kenzo x Vans

Kenzo is well known for being a streetwear brand therefore this was an iconic collaboration in the brand’s history. Vans is widely marketed to a skater community, but with the Kenzo collaboration, a diverse range of consumers were interested in the product.

Kenzo x Brompton

Brompton, known for their bicycles, are easy to carry, fold up bikes. Brompton did limited edition bikes in collaboration with Kenzo for the FW21 collection. The colours orange and purple were used for the bikes to match the collection of Kenzo. Only 35 bikes were available and the proceeds of those bikes went to Qhubeka. This charity provides children in Africa with a bike to help them move around (Willson,2021).

Kenzo x Britney Spears

Kenzo combined his iconic urban jungle aesthetic with the Britney Spears collaboration in the ‘La Collection Monumento No 2’. The iconic piece was the denim look worn by the singer.

Kenzo x H&M

Kenzo collaborated with H&M in 2016. The collection included dresses, jackets, jumpsuits, clutch bags and accessories. These products were adorned in Jungle printed, a symbolic print to the brand.

Kenzo x Inglot Cosmetics

This collaboration appeared behind the scenes at Paris Fashion week in 2017. This collaboration brought about the iconic nail enamel for men. The nail art theme for the show was inspired by auroras of Iceland.

Kenzo x KHRISJOY

A capsule collection for the FW21 Kenzo collection was created in collaboration with the well-known puffer jacket brand KHRISJOY (Saunders, 2021). Variety of different tints of blue in combination with white and red. These colours are in connection with Kenzo.