KENZO’s Fall-Winter 2023 collection, designed by Artistic Director Nigo, is a dynamic wardrobe that draws inspiration from cultures, eras, and styles across the globe.
The collection is an exploration of Nigo’s fascination with the interaction between British, American, and Japanese street culture, and builds on the archival backbone of his practice while introducing influences close to his own heart. The show opens with a string quartet playing renditions of The Beatles, reflecting the genre-spanning eclecticism of the collection.
The Japanese designer also draws inspiration from the Swinging Sixties, a foundational era for him, who was born in 1970. A vast part of his extensive archives of vintage clothes are devoted to the rocker and mod wardrobes of the time. He also explores the Great British country attire, expressed in a collaboration with Hunter, and inevitably echoes the legacy of Dame Vivienne Westwood, whose influence has been a constant in Nigo’s career.
The collection is infused with the joie de vivre of Kenzo Takada’s work in the 1980s and underpinned by the conversation between traditional Japanese construction and authentic American workwear that supports Nigo’s structural framework at KENZO. It also features a number of archival KENZO prints that have been reworked, and themes and motifs that are inspired by Eastern and Western cultures.
The materials and techniques used in the collection include a Japanese quilting technique called sashiko, traditionally employed in kendo uniforms, and British, Scottish and Italian wools, jacquards, and fil coupé, as well as a multitude of velvets.
You maybe interest to read:
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Click on this link to read this article in French version.
