Since Humberto Leon and Carol Lim arrived at Kenzo last year they've revitalised the brand, giving it the beat of lifestyle and pop culture, something they know inside and out through their wildly successful and influential Opening Ceremony stores and collection.
Graphic prints, collaborations with Vans and New Era and Kenzo Paris sweatshirts proved instant hits for the sleeping Paris label, now firmly awake, rocking and being rocked by tastemakers in capital cities over and their respected pals such as Spike Jonze and Chloë Sevigny. For Spring/Summer 13, Leon and Lim have taken the brand back to the beginning with a collection based on jungle graphics and motifs, at a show that featured parkour performance, the embodiment of city versus jungle.
"The jungle theme for Kenzo as a brand is very important," says Leon. "Jungle Jap was the first brand [Kenzo Takada] started in 1969, staging his first fashion show in 1970. Carol and I decided to visit the jungle, going to Thailand and see what the jungle meant to us, not only the experience jungle but the villages surrounding really inspired us, a lot of the handicraft work. You'll see a lot of beading and prints which reference the east Asian jungle."
Film Pau López Peñalver
