Kenzo Takada
Founder of the fashion house Kenzo
Kenzo Takada (1939 to 2020) was a Japanese designer who founded the house of Kenzo in Paris in 1970 and became one of the first designers from Japan to achieve major success in the French fashion system. His colourful prints and relaxed, multicultural style shaped Paris ready-to-wear, and the brand has belonged to LVMH since 1993.
| Role | Founder, Kenzo |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1970, Paris |
| Owner of brand | LVMH, since 1993 |
| Retired | 1999 |
| Born | 1939, Himeji, Japan |
| Died | 2020 |
Who is Kenzo Takada?
Kenzo Takada was born in 1939 in Himeji, Japan, and died in 2020 at the age of 81. He studied at Bunka Fashion College in Tokyo, where he won the Soen Award in 1961, and arrived in Paris on 1 January 1965 after a month-long sea voyage. He went on to build one of the best-known fashion and fragrance names in the world.
Career
In 1970 Takada opened his first boutique in the Galerie Vivienne in Paris, starting with a very small budget for fabrics, and presented his first collection that year. His clothes stood out for inventive cuts, a mix of Eastern and Western references, bold colour and exuberant floral prints. He was among the earliest designers to join the ready-to-wear body of the French fashion federation when it was created in 1973.
- 1965: arrives in Paris
- 1970: opens his first boutique and shows his first collection
- 1993: the house is acquired by LVMH
- 1999: retires from fashion to focus on art
- 2020: launches the home and lifestyle brand K3
Influence on the fashion business
Takada helped open Paris to designers from Japan and paved the way for later generations, including Issey Miyake, Yohji Yamamoto and Rei Kawakubo. His relaxed, youthful ready-to-wear also contributed to the shift away from the dominance of haute couture in the 1970s.
In 1993 he sold the house to LVMH, which still owned it fully at the time of his death. He retired from fashion in 1999 to devote himself to art, while the brand continued under a succession of creative directors, including Felipe Oliveira Baptista in 2020. The Kenzo name also became a significant fragrance business. Takada later worked on interiors and tableware and, in January 2020, launched the lifestyle brand K3 at the Maison et Objet trade fair in Paris.
Why it matters
Takada's career is a landmark in the globalisation of fashion. He showed that a designer from outside the European tradition could build a leading Paris house, and that a joyful, accessible aesthetic could become a durable brand inside a luxury group. For many observers he remains a symbol of creative exchange between Japan and France.
Frequently asked questions
Who was Kenzo Takada?
Kenzo Takada was a Japanese fashion designer who founded the house of Kenzo in Paris in 1970. He was one of the first Japanese designers to succeed in Paris and died in 2020.
Who owns Kenzo?
Kenzo has been owned by the French luxury group LVMH since 1993. Kenzo Takada retired from the house in 1999.