The Tamesis
There was a change in the air at Kenzo. According to a word from Nigo, who has been the brand’s creative director since 2021: “We are going back to the beginning, to the core of Kenzo and always have been. The legacy of Kenzo Takada is a brand built on color, freedom and joy. I wanted to pay a personal tribute to our founder and present it in his home. Fall 2026 is about homecoming and tribute.”
Starting with the residence, the presentation takes place in the beautiful Villa Bastille built by founder Kenzo Takada, where he lived from 1993 to 2009. Complete with a koi pond, this modernist masterpiece spans approximately 10,000 square feet and is said to have been the center of a wild party scene. Fascinatingly, it has almost no street-facing facade and is almost completely hidden within the surrounding shell of more traditional Parisian housing.
Speaking of tributes, the look and presentation of the collection (and a few phone calls afterwards) conveyed that Joshua Bullen, appointed Kenzo’s design director 12 months ago, had left. Rather than Nigo guiding Bullen in a more youthful direction, this collection shifted toward a more classical, luxurious interpretation of the founder’s design legacy.
Long dresses with exquisite floral embroideries, almost folkloric, are taken directly from this heritage. Elsewhere, Nigo showcases a soft, contemporary wardrobe that applies the founder’s Japanese tailoring patterns to pieces suited to the modern creative professional lifestyle. There’s still an emphasis on Yankee-influenced Americana, varsity jackets and sweaters, etc., but it’s much more understated than in recent seasons. The new hexagonal cross, double K monogram and belt buckle applied to the black and yellow jackets indicate that the brand language is about to be codified in categories beyond clothing. There is a very cute kite bag that mentions the history of the founder. The two-tone suit is also a flashback reference. Denim is a category that Takada and Nigo specialize in. Although it rarely appears, it is very attractive when it does.
The Nigo and Kenzo executive team have apparently begun a fresh remodel of the house. The lack of a show, combined with talk of a restart, makes this season feel like a beat before taking a more confident stance in the next few seasons and perhaps imposing a few more monograms. One thing to think about as they plan is whether Kenzo should better belong to the womenswear calendar: that might more truly reflect the founder’s beginnings, and the core of what he created that has earned him such huge acclaim.
