Kenzo Takada: Paris Colour and the Tokyo Cut, with a Dating Guide

Kenzo Takada arrived in Paris in 1965, opened a boutique called Jungle Jap in 1970 and sold his house to LVMH in 1993. The label he started carries his first name and, more than fifty years later, is still designed under it. This guide follows the house by date and ends with a table that matches a garment to its creative director, which is the question every collector of Kenzo eventually has to answer.

From Himeji to the Galerie Vivienne

Kenzo Takada was born in Himeji on 27 February 1939 (the exact day comes from Wikipedia alone). He reached Paris in 1965 after a sea voyage that began in 1964; AnOther gives 1964 for the arrival, so we write ‘by 1965’. In 1970 he opened Jungle Jap at 43 Galerie Vivienne and showed his first collection in the same year. The house is remembered for colour and print. The contrast with the Tokyo avant-garde that arrived in Paris a decade later is told in Against Clothing.

The house, by date

• 1970. Jungle Jap boutique, 43 Galerie Vivienne; first collection.
• 1983. Menswear introduced.
• 1988. Fragrances launched.
• 1993. The house is sold to LVMH.
• 1999. Takada leaves after a final show.
• 4 October 2020. Takada dies of complications of COVID-19, aged 81. Accounts differ on whether he died at the American Hospital of Paris or at home.

Dating guide: who designed it

The creative director is the quickest way to date a piece. The order below follows the FIT museum record and Wikipedia; where accounts disagree on a year we say so.

• 1970 to 1999, Kenzo Takada. The founder’s own era and the most collected.
• 1999 to 2003 or 2004, Gilles Rosier (women’s) and Roy Krejberg (men’s). The end year is given as 2003 by some accounts and 2004 by others.
• 2003 to 2011, Antonio Marras. Hired in 2003, sole creative director from 2008, left in 2011. Accounts vary on exactly when he began.
• 2011 to 2019, Humberto Leon and Carol Lim. Their first collection was shown in 2012.
• July 2019 to 30 June 2021, Felipe Oliveira Baptista.
• From 2021, NIGO. Announced on 15 September 2021 and still in post in January 2026.

Reading a Kenzo piece

• Label. Labels changed with each era; record the wording, the typeface and the care tag before dating a piece to a director.
• Founder-era pieces. The years before the 1993 sale are the ones to look for. Condition varies with the fabric; check knitwear and cotton in particular.
• The NIGO years. Tied to the Harajuku tradition of A Bathing Ape, they are a chapter in themselves.
• Sizing. Take measurements and do not trust a label size across eras.

Why Japan

Kenzo is a Japanese name with a Parisian address, and the Japanese pre-owned wardrobe holds pieces from every era of the house, often carefully kept.

In the archive now

• Kenzo · Hanae Mori · Luxury archive

Continue reading

• Hanae Mori: The Butterfly of Paris
• Issey Miyake: Clothing as Architecture
• Japanese Fashion as Design Philosophy
• Directory of Japanese Fashion Designers
• Encyclopedia entry · The Fashionista Bible

Looking for a founder-era Kenzo piece? Our Hunting Salon™ searches across Japan’s private collector circles on your behalf.

Index terms: kenzo takada · kenzo vintage · jungle jap · kenzo nigo · kenzo creative director · kenzo dating guide · kenzo paris · japanese designer in paris