Kenzo’s co-creative directors Carol Lim and Humberto Leon know how to throw a fashion show, and this season the duo delivered in spades at Kenzo’s Spring 2018 show in Paris. Offering up clashing patterns, and prints, with a punkish pop aesthetic, mixing stripes, optical effects, along with aerial dancers rappelling down the sides of a building. It was fun brain searing tableu, especially the optical effects that combined and clashed to dynamic effect.
The cast for the show was comprised entirely of Asian models who came from as far away as China, Korea, and Japan, just for the show. “We took a really directional casting this season,” says Leon. With so many designers centering their collections on global/political issues lately, Lim and Leon decided to go in the opposite direction; “We’ve gone political, we’ve addressed climate, we’ve gone on very topical things, and we wanted to almost step back and really have fun with this collection. I think we use our platform so instinctively for different reasons, and we just wanted to use it for joy,” they said.
With bold prints and ultra-vibrant colors it’s hard not to feel the extraordinary energy that emanates from their designs. Their use of contrasting patterns and color palettes worked in the typical zany kind of way the collection’s muse, Sayoko Yamaguchi paired retina-searing color combinations. Playful fuzzy socks in primary colors were styled with matching fuzzy sweaters tucked into track pants, and worn with Mary Jane style shoes. The looks sporting cartoon graphics won out, resembling old school computer games and m otor racing. They were album cover T-shirts and prints supplied by musician Ryuichi Sakamoto. Not only was the show one of the most exciting shows at Paris fashion week, but being Kenzo, everything that went into the collection was made noteworthy by the expression of the many over-the-top ideas.
Kenzo Spring 2018 Show Scaled New Heights
See All the Looks from the Collection
