sunday spotlight : kenzo takada

what i love about kenzo takada {besides the obvious, his gorgeous clothing designs!} is that he and his brand were self made, created from his sheer desire to make what he considered beautiful, and by his admirable drive and willpower. kenzo was born in japan, enrolled in a well known fashion school against his parent's wishes, and took the plunge at age 26, sailing for 6 weeks by boat to paris, without speaking a lick of french. kenzo worked and saved money for 5 years so he could open his own boutique, a fabulously beautiful shop decorated like the jungle and inspired by henri rousseau. the boutique was called 'jungle jap' {how rad is that?!}, it opened in 1970, and quickly became a favorite among the young french fashionistas. at that time people were on spiritual journeys, and looking for clothing that supported that ideology. ie, hippies. kenzo was the first designer to create the 'ethnic look', and his collections were drawn from colors, patterns, and cuts from all over the world. in the 70's kenzo was pretty much the most copied designer in paris, and in a way he is still being copied today. {free people?} kenzo retired in 1999, but his fashion house continues to be run by antonio marras, and remains true to kenzo takada and his worldly cultural ethos.