Japanese fashion designer, DJ, record producer and entrepreneur, Nigo, has been appointed as the newest artistic director of Maison KENZO by LVMH.
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It’s been approximately 20 years since a Japanese artistic director has been at the helm of Maison KENZO. Founder, Kenzō Takada, announced his retirement from the brand in 1999. Since then, KENZO has been run by Gilles Rosier, Roy Krejberg, Antonio Marras, Humberto Leon, Carol Lim, and Felipe Oliveira Baptista. Each creative and artistic director brought their own flair to KENZO. Recent years have also seen the brand collaborating with others, such as H&M, Inglot Cosmetics, and Britney Spears. Although they’ve reached huge success from their campaigns, the fans longed for the return of KENZO’s Japanese DNA.
In comes Nigo, a Japanese fashion designer, DJ, record producer, and entrepreneur with a huge global following. He’s the big guy behind huge clothing giants, such as A Bathing Ape a.k.a. BAPE and Human Made. He has also collaborated for collections with Uniqlo, Adidas, and Louis Vuitton. Actually, it was perhaps due to his successful work with Louis Vuitton that got the higher ups of LVMH thinking about his appointment. Eventually, they decided to give Nigo’s spot on intuition and talent a chance to run Maison KENZO.
“I am very happy to welcome Nigo as the Artistic Director of the Maison KENZO. The arrival of an extremely talented Japanese designer will allow us to write a new page in the history of the House that Takada Kenzo founded. I am convinced that the creativity and innovation of Nigo as well as his attachment to the history of the House will fully express all the potential of KENZO”, says Sidney Toledano.
Needless to say, it was a match made in heaven. Apart from their understanding of the market and their unique sense of design, Kenzō Takada and Nigo have a lot more in common. During the official press conference, Nigo said, “I am proud to have been appointed Artistic Director of KENZO. I was born in the year that Takada Kenzo san opened his first store in Paris. We both graduated from the same fashion school in Tokyo. In 1993, the year that KENZO joined the LVMH Group, I started my career in Fashion.”
More so, Nigo places Kenzō Takada in high regard. He spoke kindly about the late designers work and work ethic. He closes the statement by saying, “Kenzo san’s approach to creating originality was through his understanding of many different cultures. It is also the essence of my own philosophy of creativity. Inheriting the spirit of Kenzo san’s craftsmanship to create a new KENZO is the greatest challenge of my 30-year career, which I intend to achieve together with the team. Finally, I would like to thank Bernard Arnault and Sidney Toledano for giving me this wonderful opportunity.”
