Merely days after the Kenzo S/S 2021 womenswear collection show, the brand’s founder, Kenzo Takada, has passed away.
Takada died at the age of 81 on Oct. 4 due to coronavirus-related complications, according to WWD. The designer had more than 50 years’ worth of accomplishment and career under his design jurisdiction, highly admired by his contemporaries like Yves Saint Lauren, Jean Pual Gaultier, Karl Lagerfeld and more.
Although I have been an admirer of Kenzo (the brand) for years, I did not know that Kenzo (the designer) had so many unknown facts about him. Specifically, I did not know that he was a founding member of French Fashion’s governing body of the Chambre Syndicale de la Couture, du Prêt-à-porter des Couturiers et des Créateurs de Mode. It is one of the three pillars that makes up today’s French fashion’s governing body in fashion.
Kenzo Takada proudest accomplishment
I love that in a prior interview with WWD, Takada said that the proudest accomplishment of his career was that his name survived “across so many years.”
“What I am most proud of is I opened the roads for much younger people from around the world,” he said, “who probably think they can be a hit in fashion in Paris or London. They can come and try to do that.”
As a Black woman, I know the power of a name and the power of holding onto your history means.
Takada was Paris based, but he was a Japanese designer who is famous for creating the international luxury fashion house Kenzo and bringing Japanese luxury to America.
Takada and his influence will certainly be missed.
