SEVENTEEN's Vernon, Eric Nam And Symphonic 'City Pop' At KENZO Spring/Summer 2024
Pop art and bright colours from the '70s and '80s reimagine an old era with fresh perspective
Creative director Nigo wants you to know his clothes are real - as real as the streets of Paris, Tokyo and beyond. 'Real-to-wear,' the creative branding concept the designer conjured up after taking over the helm of the house back in 2021, never looked quite as real as it did on the Passerelle Debilly last Friday evening, with his latest 'City Pop' inspired collection gleaming in the golden hour light. Much like the man himself, the pedestrian footbridge reflects what we love most about the Maison. Seamlessly bridging streetwear and high fashion as well as further strengthening the cultural ties between East and West, the designer's ability to effortlessly code-switch in terms of styles and aesthetics continues to be his trademark, and most significant contribution to the brand.
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That's exactly what City Pop, the phenomenon which swept Japan in the 1970s and '80s, is all about. A fusion of various genres from disco to R&B, the Western-influenced musical movement introduced new sounds to traditional audiences, much as Nigo seeks to do in his latest offering. The only sphere in which this message may not have come across clear was Nigo's latest perspective on womenswear, though efforts to decipher and understand that perspective may be beside the point. These are clothes that are shown on the runway one day, and ready to be worn on the streets the next. Any attempts to evangelise or make the collection something more intellectual than it appears will be futile.
After all, what Nigo has always done best is listen to himself; staying in tune with the shared cultural heritage of the house, and his own legacy, to reinvent classic streetwear staples into luxurious fashions with bright and joyous energy (a tip his dear friend Pharrell, who staged his own runway show in Paris just days earlier, may have borrowed). And that's exactly what was demonstrated in the designer's latest collection, which shunned trends otherwise dominating the luxury fashion landscape (bye, bye quiet luxury!) in favour of sexy semi-sheer women's knits, hip denim pieces, light pastels, summer fabrics and a reimagined archival rose print which were both on-trend and on-brand.
A key crossover characteristic from streetwear into high fashion is also the ethos of connection; bringing together brilliant creative minds who may have fallen on the fringes of the traditional 'fashion industry,' from street artists to avant-garde filmmakers, into the luxury fashion space. And despite previously spurning the collaborations also inherent to streetwear culture, the ever-expanding menswear space (and growing importance of Men's Fashion Week showings) made this the perfect time to break tradition. A reimagined "Kenzo Paris" logo designed by another close friend of Nigo, Japanese graphic artist Verdy, brings renewed hype to the collection (Verdy was just announced as artistic director for K-pop powerhouse BLACKPINK). Elsewhere, judo belts and Kendo belts with multi-functional pockets as well as KENZO PXT - or Paris x Tokyo - sneakers brought the brand's distinctly Japanese flavour to the table.
Naturally, news of Nigo's appointment two years ago prompted plenty of comparisons to founder Kenzo Takada, who was born and raised in Japan before launching his brand in Paris. Rarely has a current creative director in the luxury fashion space so closely mirrored a founder's original journey. And as it turns out, hewing to brand identity remains no problem for Nigo, who better embodies his current appointment more so than many creative directors who have been around twice as long. Scroll ahead to see all the looks from the KENZO Spring/Summer 2024 collection.