KENZO has returned. Showing its first womenswear collection in over eight years, the brand (with Nigo as its artistic director) revived the Kenzo girl.
Taking place at 18 Rue Vivienne, the seventeenth century home to the House and ateliers, the setting was housed with familiar furniture creating a homely mood for this moment. Set to a backdrop of music that mixed 90s hip hop with punk and disco, Nigo’s touch of being eclectic brought the Sex Pistols to the same soundtrack as Blondie and Patti Smith.
The collection itself was clean with masculine tailoring inspired by Nigo’s collection of Saville Row suits. The attention to detail was exacting, with the jackets being created to the specifications set by the British tailoring standards.
Styled by Max Pearmain, the floating crepe harem style trousers were layered over silky playsuits that were left to have their top half falling off around the waist like belts. Fur-trimmed satin gloves were seen and delicate pointelle knit jumpers added a delicateness that balanced the looser and larger silhouettes that formed the backbone of the collection.
The anchoring footwear, a slingback, mule slipper came in satin, leather and studded denim. Revived from the Kenzo archive, this was not the only homage paid as the jackets shared a similar boxiness and shape to the ones seen in the last womenswear collection in 2016.
Nigo’s streetwear background naturally brought a sense of community to the runway with a collaboration with New Era on the 59FIFTY caps and on the illustrative embroidery that featured on coats, hats and vests. There was a fabulous focus on the details, selvedge denim was finished with the same baby pink threaded throughout as an obvious hint to classic femininity.
The collection ended with oversized fuzzy blue and pink jackets. With rabbit ears on the hoods, the show’s finale turned drastically with a playful and youthful tilt.
by Imogen Hopkin Holland