Kenzo A/W 2016

Mood board: Kenzo was founded in Paris in 1964 by a visiting Japanese Francophile named Kenzo Takada. To this day, the label’s peppy American creative directors – retail gurus-turned-designers Carol Lim and Humberto Leon – used their time spent at music concerts in Japan and beyond as a starting point for their most recent collection. Youthful, easy separates that are an ode to the fans of idols past and present, the roomy sweatshirts emblazoned with Takada’s signature will be sure to please the label’s 1.1 million Instagram followers.
Scene setting: 100 or so choristers from the Palais Royal and Sanfoka Unit choirs opened the show, walking out onto the runway chanting lyrics from Janet Jackson's Rhythm Nation. They stood in two rows in the centre of the show space performing an exclusive cover of the song reworked by American producer Daniel Lopatin and arranged by Thomas Roussel.
Best in show: The print offering for next season is vast; nagai stars, tanaka squares and graphic daisy chains were on everything from shirts to suits. Also standout were the lacquered quilted trench coats, which were cinched with wide obi belts.
INFORMATION
Photography: Jason Lloyd-Evans
Receive our daily digest of inspiration, escapism and design stories from around the world direct to your inbox.
London based writer Dal Chodha is editor-in-chief of Archivist Addendum — a publishing project that explores the gap between fashion editorial and academe. He writes for various international titles and journals on fashion, art and culture and is a contributing editor at Wallpaper*. Chodha has been working in academic institutions for more than a decade and is Stage 1 Leader of the BA Fashion Communication and Promotion course at Central Saint Martins. In 2020 he published his first book SHOW NOTES, an original hybrid of journalism, poetry and provocation.
-
The great American museum boom
Nine of the world’s top ten most expensive, recently announced cultural projects are in the US. What is driving this investment, and is this statistic sustainable?
-
Here’s how Heathrow is reimagining airport chaos as ambient music
Grammy-nominated Jordan Rakei turns travel noise into a meditative soundtrack by sampling everything from baggage belts to jet engines
-
Wallpaper* checks into Gansevoort Meatpacking, an art-filled hotel that mirrors the district’s glow-up
This sharp, stylish New York hotel is a fixture in its neighbourhood, where boutiques, restaurants and clubs have long since taken over spaces once occupied by slaughterhouses
-
Haute Couture Week A/W 2025: what to expect
Five moments to look out for at Haute Couture Week A/W 2025 in Paris (starting Monday 7 July), from Glenn Martens’ debut for Maison Margiela to Demna’s Balenciaga swansong. Plus, ‘new beginnings’ from JW Anderson
-
Donna Trope celebrates the power of the Polaroid in Paris
‘Polaroids used to be my rejects, and now they are my holy grail,’ says the beauty photographer, as she shows rarely seen images in a Paris exhibition
-
Palace unites with Rapha to celebrate inaugural Tour de France Femmes
Marking the first time women will compete in the historic cycling race since the late 1980s, this new collaboration sees Palace Skateboards and Rapha create uniforms for both on and off the bike – including an ‘outlandish’ pair of Crocs
-
Paris Fashion Week A/W 2022: Chanel to Miu Miu
In this extended report, Wallpaper* updates you live from Paris Fashion Week A/W 2022 shows, with rolling coverage as runway events unfold
-
Scene-stealing runway sets from A/W 2022 menswear shows
A Kubrickian space odyssey at Prada; a recreation of the Pont Alexandre III in Paris at Dior; and colourful, artist-created flags at Loewe: explore the best runway sets from the A/W 2022 menswear shows
-
Kenzo returns to Galerie Vivienne for Nigo’s A/W 2022 show debut
For his debut, A/W 2022 Kenzo show, the brand’s new creative director Nigo chose Paris’ Galerie Vivienne, the location of founder Kenzo Takada’s first boutique
-
Scene-stealing runway sets from S/S 2022 womenswear shows
From giant roulette wheels to Olympic diving boards and multi-city synchronized extravaganzas – our pick of the best fashion show sets from S/S 2022 womenswear
-
Walk this way: navigating S/S 2021's Paris Fashion Week
How the City of Lights looked to the sartorial realities of our much changed lifestyles