60 croquis de mode

The story of Kenzo Takada is that of the first Japanese designer to establish himself in the world of Parisian fashion. Born in 1939 in Himeji, Japan, Kenzo became interested in fashion at an early age. Against his parents’ wish that he pursue literary studies, he enrolled at Tokyo’s Bunka Fashion College, a renowned fashion school, becoming one of the first male students admitted to its fashion and textile program. In 1965, he left Japan to pursue his dream in the world capital of fashion: Paris. “Every wall, every patch of sky and every passer-by in the city inspires my collections,” Kenzo Takada said of his adopted city. He had settled there to learn from the greatest, intending to return to Japan afterward. In love with the city, feeling at home and eager to “create something” there, he remained for more than fifty years.

In 1970, he held his first fashion show and opened his first boutique, named Jungle Jap. In his first year of activity, he presented not two but four collections. He was also one of the first to invent the concept of ready-to-wear. Kenzo’s creations combined deconstructed shapes with bold, vivid colors without ever becoming vulgar, and this combination made the designer’s reputation. In 1983, he began to take an interest in menswear and opened his first men’s boutique four years later, distinguishing himself notably with a shoe collection that has since become a fashion classic. In the late 1980s, the designer turned to perfume, which he explored with as much talent as haute couture. After the death of his partner in 1990, Kenzo decided to sell the Kenzo brand to the LVMH group, before leaving definitively in 1999.

These drawings, from the last collections to come from his pencil, remained his property until his death from complications of COVID-19 on October 4, 2020. The contents of his Paris apartment, where they were kept, were sold by Artcurial in spring 2021. All of these drawings come from that sale.

An exceptional group, in a remarkable box by Julie Nadot.