KENZO FALL/WINTER 2022/2023 SHOW BY NIGO — personal comment

6 min readMar 8, 2022

O Tiger my Tiger! — Photo by Diver Zhang on Unsplash

What they say about themselves:

KENZO FALL-WINTER 2022 WOMEN’S AND MEN’S SHOW BY NIGO
‘REAL-TO-WEAR’: AN AUTHENTIC WARDROBE FOUNDED IN A FORWARD-THINKING APPROACH TO FASHION.
The KENZO Fall-Winter 2022 Women’s and Men’s Show marks the debut of Artistic Director Nigo, the first Japanese designer to front the house since its founder Kenzo Takada. With his first collection, Nigo introduces his vision for KENZO : a meeting between the Maison’s heritage and his own contemporary codes.
In 1970, the year Nigo was born, Takada presented his inaugural fashion show in the Galerie Vivienne on the backdrop of his new shop, Jungle Jap. Five decades later, Nigo makes his own debut for KENZO in the same arcade, envisioning it as a tunnel toward the future and beyond the borders of fashion. Nigo and Kenzo Takada share an inherent cultural language — an understanding of the synthesis between Japanese and Western wardrobe traditions — but it’s their attitude to fashion that connects them above all: a belief that what you see on a runway should manifest in real life.
DISCOVER THE COLLECTION — In his first collection for the Maison, Nigo fuses the influences of his own upbringing and career with the heritage of Kenzo Takada, writing a language for the Maison that looks to the future by learning from the past. Melding the grammar of the archives with that of his own sensibility, the Artistic Director creates a premise that unites and transcends cultural and conventional dress codes. Traditional ideas of formal-, sports- and ‘streetwear’ splice into one logic: real-to-wear, exercised across women’s and men’s wardrobes, which mix tailoring and workwear, both cutting a genderless silhouette.
Kenzo by Nigo: unique poetry inspires designer’s debut.

What I say:

Nigo sitting next to Pharrell, the recent ultimate appropriator, with Tiffany take on copying originally believed 17th Mughal royals’ frames. A tremendous cold Galerie Vivienne. Guests with Kenzo’s blankets. Those berets. Oh my war, give me the spit of fire. Brown meets red, even in socks. Military themed, as if Japan was going to war. BOOM BOOM! Pearl Harbor remake — (written before invasion of Ukraine, so forgive my ironic statement…) — . A sense of Japan and Asia. Those oldie suits suit Japanese male models perfectly! Squares on blanket jackets ready to buy. Ready to bye. Ready to wear. I wonder how Kenzo allows itself to take the U-turn from Filipe Oliveira Baptista to Nigo... As if Virgil’s departure created the void and need to continue to infuse street to the whole wardrobe. LVMH just chose the Japanese street now, but they also changed the lighthouse from where the guidance will be shed. From Louis Vuitton to Kenzo. From NY, Chicago, Brooklyn, to Japan. Let Nigo choose the regional spots and the local visuals. I almost get the impression— should I say desire! — that it would make sense to have only Asian models here.

Tiger. Rawwwwww. Hidden at the back, closing belts, as a dying pet grabbed by hand, as a withered hand-bag. Poor tiger. This is not emancipation by any means, this is seclusion. The military theme very well dramatized, in an oldie Japanese suit. Men in skirts. Kids with Guns. I love those skirts, those square prints, not knowing though where they do come from. Rawwww! Good to see you Tyler. Not so good to see Julia Who? How one can aspire to get inspired by fashion when icons are born as cakes in oven? Dirty hands with good ingredients don’t make sweet cakes. Only sugar make sweetness! Julia is no sugar. Ye is sugar. Julia is somewhat a new ingredient to add to this fashion nonsense. Rawwwwww!

Why the military theme?

Why the schoolgirl/boy theme?

Why the milkshake of japanese streetwear and takada’s iconography?

Poppies? Well, we live in the world of post-war on drugs, so it actually makes sense to cover poppies here and there. Perhaps the only real and modern element of this show. Poppies!

Poppy

Rawwwwwwww

**Addiction in a post-war on drugs world**— Photo by Larisa Birta on Unsplash

Rawwwww — Photo by Frida Lanenrström on Unsplash

What I also say:

I started this text before the invasion of Ukraine, so I won’t explore the military theme any further, since it is now a much more critical topic rather fashion and style.

From Felipe Oliveira Baptista to Nigo

Kenzo Takada sadly died in 2019, and soon after Felipe Oliveira Baptista (FOB) acceptance of Creative Director role at Kenzo. Shockingly, Virgil Abloh departed in late 2021. These two facts represented a gap to be filled by LVMH. How? Firstly, FOB was presenting a post-streetwear vision for Kenzo and it quite nicely resembled the visual identity of Mr Kenzo’s Kenzo himself. Oh! How I loved the path being taken. I was flying on those collections since day one. Plus the COVID-19 impact on everything and FOB vision to dwelve inwards and outwards these challenging times. It was great indeed! However, I do not know about the economical results of such adventures. So, as expected from LVMH, money first, icons, influence, style, fashion, after, (and social causes — maybe never!?), a move happened, and it happened faster, promoted as well by Virgil Abloh’s departure.

Indeed, the gap now opened by i) not having Abloh’s influential power and ii) the current youngsters’ cultural appetite; does not resemble any of the Mr. Takada’s visuals. What gap am I talking about exactly? Let me divide the gap in two instances. The first one is the streetwear gap. Streetwear keeps its stake at the luxury aisles, and therefore, the departure of one of its biggest icons means the market has a hole. The second is the freshness of Kenzo’s brand itself. Kenzo’s floral patterns and light ready-to-wear collections are a signature style. Even though FOB was walking that path with a slightly personal shift, Takada’s vision was, so far, intact. Not anymore. By appointing Nigo, LVMH is relinquishing all the breeze and flowers to mere details. Mr. Takada is, unfortunately, cornered. Moreover, my five cents is that LVMH will phase out street and hip-hop culture from luxury and from Louis Vuitton, giving space to a more traditional and classical perspective. This hot seat replacement is a risky bet though, which is the increase of Kenzo price tag on streetwear new outlooks, explained by the cultural economic margin and market share rise after the lifework of Virgil Abloh. Nevertheless, the risk is again dichotomous, since Off-White might keep its stake right on the spot; a spot of a brand with a proper social impact, and the inspiration of street culture, as developed by Virgil since ever.

How Nigo will merge Kenzo’s iconography with street culture is the only interesting thing I am expecting to see from now on. And this is quite short for me.

Sadly, Kenzo Takada originality and vision for fashion is, lets say, out of fashion. At least until LVMH decide to bring it back. I hope it happens very soon! As soon as possible!