“It seems like he was working here just a few minutes ago. On the table sketches, pencils, felt-tip pens, windows are flooded with sunlight, a kind of joyful serenity is poured everywhere, ”- auctioneer of the Parisian house of artcurial, Stéphane Aubert shares his impression of Kenzo’s office. On May 3 in Paris, Artcurial will open an exhibition featuring over 600 pieces collected by designer Kenzo Takada in his Paris apartment in Saint-Germain-des-Prés over the past 15 years. And on May 11, a real-time and online auction of these items will be held.
Among the lots, Kenzo’s paintings from the Masks no series (starting at € 1,500-2,000), table setting items, including the designer’s work for Baccarat, cutlery, Japanese porcelain, and Asian art – a wooden horse statue from the Han era ( 20,000-30,000 euros) and the third century Buddha’s torso (10,000-15,000 euros). “This collection, in a sense, continues the tradition of the collections of great French couturiers such as Yves Saint Laurent or Hubert de Givenchy,” continues Aubert. – Kenzo collected things from completely different eras and countries – from the Han dynasty to modern art. This is exactly the case when the house reflects the character of the person who lives in it: his love of life, sunny character, eclectic taste. This spacious apartment has a lot of light colors and bright accents. “
Japanese jungle
The first Japanese designer in the world to establish himself in the Parisian fashion scene, Kenzo Takada was born in 1939 in the Japanese city of Himeji. The father was categorically against his son studying fashion. But the stubborn young man still managed to convince his father, whose support was needed. It took the future holder of the Order of the Legion of Honor of France six months to persuade him, but in the end Kenzo went to Tokyo, to the best fashionable university in the country – Bunka Fashion College, becoming one of his first male students. By the way, the ability to defend his interests Kenzo came in handy more than once – later it helped him build an entire empire. “To be successful,” said the designer, “you need to have a goal, dream and never give up.”
In 1965, Kenzo felt that Japan was already cramped for him, and decided to leave for France, to Paris, in order to become a world famous designer. From Tokyo to the capital of world fashion, he went by ship. “Through Hong Kong, Singapore, Djibouti, Bombay – I had no idea then what impact these countries would have on my work,” he later told his friend, journalist Kazuko Masui, who recorded his memories for the book Kenzo Takada. “Then, a few years later, when I started making my own collections, all these impressions suddenly appeared from somewhere and led me along.”
Floral motifs, bright colors, ethnicity – all this remained with the designer. The source of his creativity was all the countries, all the cities of the world, the impressions of which he passed through his own, light and sunny filter. This, of course, is Paris, where, as he said, “every wall, every piece of the sky and every street passer-by inspires me to create new collections.” But this is also his beloved Japan, which he found “incredibly beautiful” after Paris.
True, this whole wonderful life did not come immediately. In the early years in Paris, Kenzo was so poor that he lived in an apartment in which there was neither a shower nor a bathroom, which is horror for any person, but for a Japanese it is real hell. But Kenzo did not give up, and in 1970 in the Parisian district of Marais he opened his first store, which he called Jungle Jap – “Japanese from the jungle” (nicknamed Jap, “Japanese”, Kenzo received in Paris). The first show of the designer’s works took place there – and immediately a dizzying success burst into his life.
Kenzo’s style, in which ultra-fashionable cut is mixed with traditional oriental ornaments and bright colors, is radically different from the style of contemporary designers. Perhaps that is why in 1970-1990. he was so phenomenally famous all over the world. Commercial success accompanied the designer: in 1983, under the Kenzo brand, they began to produce men’s clothing, in 1988 – perfumes, in 1991 – items for the home. In 1993, the LVMH group acquired the Kenzo brand, and six years later, when Kenzo, in his own words, “felt a little out of fashion,” he left the company, leaving the leadership of the house to his team.
Unfinished collection
“The people who worked with him note that he was very demanding both of himself and of his employees. And at the same time, he was a radiant, joyful person, rather unpretentious and modest – probably because of his upbringing, – notes Aubert. – We would like to pay tribute to this extraordinary personality, to tell the general public what Kenzo was like, how he lived, to show all the facets of his work. Everyone knows that he was a famous designer. But he also painted a lot and worked with interior houses such as Baccarat, creating furniture and tableware. “
Therefore, before the auction at the Artcurial mansion on Avenue Montaigne, the interior of Kenzo’s apartment will be recreated for a few days. It is as if the visitor will visit the designer, see his living room, dining room, study. “We have such experience: we also prepared an auction of interiors from the Ritz hotel – we recreated the hotel bars, lounges, rooms. We’ll do the same here, ”says Aubert. He notes the meticulousness and depth of work that the auction house had to carry out with the Kenzo collection: “The team and I literally lived in his apartment for several weeks, because we had to make a description of each item, photograph, call experts in directions, then arrange transportation to us in office”.
In addition to real-time bidding, Artcurial is organizing an online auction, which will display around 120-130 garments. A curious moment is connected with this collection – it was found by accident: “We were already taking things away, and at the last moment I opened the door of another closet – the apartment is huge, and there were also a lot of storage places. And then I saw about 20 hung up, and on them prototypes of clothes that Kenzo was already making alone. Bright, joyful things, absolutely in the spirit of the designer! It turns out that he continued to work and create clothes until the very last day. “
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