Kenzo’s creative directors (and Opening Ceremony co-founders) Carol Lim and Humberto Leon create a grown up and hulking collection inspired by the uniforms of steelworkers; a great contrast to Kenzo’s usual youthful spirit seen in previous collections.
Leon and Lim have always paid homage to Kenzo’s prints and sense of worldiness with ethnic inspired looks and a vibrant use of colour. This collection is different; we see mostly warm shades of brown and leafy greens contrasting cold light greys and lavender, then violent splashes of neon yellow, poppy red and cobalt blue.
The industrial-sized platform shoes reflect Leon and Lim’s ideas of uniform, screaming practicality and function. But footwear is not the only oversized piece in this collection, with bulky blazers and coats where monochrome geometric patterns arise, taking us back to Kenzo’s appreciation for prints. The oversized garments juxtapose the cropped knitwear worn with important straight and rigid trousers. Look 15 and 17 show caramel fur coats, a subtle reminder of the Kenzo tiger – a symbol of previous seasons.
This collection gives a whole new feel to FUNctional.
Words: Charlotte Brown
