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Franco-Japanese designer Kenzo Takada dies of COVID-19

05 Oct '20

2 min read

Pic: Vitaliy Hrabar / Shutterstock.com

Franco-Japanese fashion designer Kenzo Takada, has died from COVID-19 complications at the age of 81, according to a statement released by the family to French media on Sunday. Takada died in a hospital in Neuilly-sur-Seine, near Paris. He was known for his jungle-infused designs and free-spirited aesthetic that channelled global travel.

“It is with immense sadness that Kenzo has learned of the passing of our founder... for half a century, Mr. Takada has been an emblematic personality in the fashion industry –always infusing creativity and colour into the world,” Takada's fashion house Kenzo said in a statement on Instagram.

“His amazing energy, kindness, talent and smile were contagious,” said designer Felipe Oliveira Baptista, who only last week unveiled Kenzo's spring-summer 2020 collection to fashion editors.

The brand Kenzo is owned by French luxury goods company LVMH since 1993.

Takada, who was born in 1939, fell in love with fashion after reading his sisters' fashion magazines. He studied at the Bunka College of Fashion in Tokyo, and worked for a brief period in Japan, before relocating to Paris in 1965, to work as a freelance designer.

Most recently in January 2020, Takada announced that he would be launching a new lifestyle brand named K3. The brand made its first appearance in January 2020 at the Maison et Objet trade show, as well as in a Parisian showroom.

He was the honorary president of the Asian Couture Federation.

Fibre2Fashion News Desk (RKS)

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