"Fashion is like eating--you shouldn't stick to the same menu"

October 5, 2020 1:37 PM

Japanese fashion legend Kenzo Takada has died. The fashion designer, known for his bold, exuberant prints, passed away in Paris, where he has lived for 56 years, of complications from the coronavirus. He was 81.

He rocked the Paris fashion world with his debut line in 1970 making use of vibrant colors and mismatched prints.

His controversial use of a slur as part of his first name for the line eventually led to him changing it, using his first name as the brand. His success helped pave the way for other Japanese designers such as Rei Kawakubo and Yohji Yamamoto. But even in retirement, he remained active in creating designs.

“'My work was always about freedom and harmony,' Takada told [Vogue] in 2000. 'I’d like to be remembered as a designer who crossed boundaries.'”

posted by kitten kaboodle (13 comments total)

I wanted to post about this because he was one of the first designers I'd ever paid attention to, even though I was pretty young when his first collections came out. There was something about him that seemed so groundbreaking to me, and kickstarted an interest in fashion that I still have.
posted by kitten kaboodle at 1:40 PM on October 5, 2020 [2 favorites]

Counterpoint: Fashion is like eating--there's no need to deviate from what you like.
posted by MrJM at 2:10 PM on October 5, 2020 [2 favorites]

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posted by lazaruslong at 2:13 PM on October 5, 2020

Fuck COVID-19.
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posted by The Ardship of Cambry at 2:54 PM on October 5, 2020

Counterpoint: Fashion is like eating--there's no need to deviate from what you like.

There's no need, but there's also no reason not try new things now and then. You just might find more things that you like that you might never have otherwise encountered.
posted by star gentle uterus at 3:02 PM on October 5, 2020 [1 favorite]

His controversial use of a slur as part of his first name for the line eventually led to him changing it, using his first name as the brand.

Man, is that interesting. For anyone else who hadn't heard of that controversy, the slur in question is a pejorative for Japanese people. In the linked article, he gave his reason for choosing the name:

"I knew it had a pejorative meaning," he told the New York Times in a 1972 interview. "But I thought if I did something good, I would change the meaning."

. on a large floral print.
posted by ZaphodB at 3:07 PM on October 5, 2020

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posted by JoeXIII007 at 4:43 PM on October 5, 2020

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posted by runehog at 5:55 PM on October 5, 2020

I worked for six months in Paris in 1978 at Kenzo's store/HQ at Place des Victoires, when he still called it Kenzo J-p. At the time the name was no big deal, bordered on the humourous.

A great time. Lots of parties. At one, I got to stand next to Andy Warhol for 15 minutes. It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.

Thanks, Kenzo.
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posted by Mister Bijou at 8:01 PM on October 5, 2020 [4 favorites]

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posted by palmcorder_yajna at 9:06 PM on October 5, 2020

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posted by filtergik at 3:11 AM on October 6, 2020

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posted by one teak forest at 6:25 AM on October 6, 2020

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posted by _paegan_ at 10:01 AM on October 6, 2020