Fashion legend Kenzo Takada dies at 81

October 05, 2020

Fashion designer Kenzo Takada, who made his name into a world-renowned fashion brand, died on Sunday. He was 81.

Takada was famed for his jungle-infused designs and free-spirit aesthetic, inspired by global travel.

“It is with immense sadness that KENZO has learned of the passing of our founder,” the fashion house said in a statement.

“For half a century, Mr Takada has been an emblematic personality in the fashion industry — always infusing creativity and color into the world.”

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The KENZO fashion house had just unveiled its bee-themed collection during Paris Fashion Week.

“His amazing energy, kindness and talent and smile were contagious,” said KENZO’s artistic director, Felipe Oliveira Beptista, who released the new range to fashion editors. “His kindred spirit will live forever.”

Kenzo Takada was born in 1939 and grew up with six siblings near the Japanese city of Himeji.

Even as a young boy with a flair for drawing he was fascinated by fashion — inspired by his sisters’ magazines. He gained his first experience designing and tailoring outfits for dolls.

Read more: Kansai Yamamoto: Japanese fashion pioneer dies at 76

Creations for the KENZO Spring-Summer 2021 collection during Paris Fashion Week

Takada studied at Tokyo’s Bunka College of Fashion after which he had a bried stint working in Japan before relocating to France in 1965.

He arrived in the French port of Marseilles aged 25, intending to stay only for a short while, and would become the first Japanese designer to make it big in France.

The mayor of Paris, Anne Hidalgo, tweeted that the city was “morning one of its sons,” saying the designer had given space to color and light in fashion.

Takada retired from the fashion brand in 1999 to pursue a career in art.

Kenzo poses in 2010 with some of his self-portrait paintings in Paris

The KENZO brand has been owned by French luxury goods company LVMH since 1993.

“Kenzo Takada has, from the 1970s, infused into fashion a tone of poetic lightness and sweet freedom which inspired many designers after him,” said LVMH chief, Bernard Arnault.

Claudia Schiffer: The supermodel at 50

From schoolgirl to cover girl

German supermodel Claudia Schiffer initially planned to be a lawyer like her father. All that changed in 1987 when the 17-year-old was discovered in a Dusseldorf disco by a modeling agent who invited her to go to Paris for a trial shoot. Shortly after, fashion photographer Ellen von Unwerth shot Claudia for the cover of “Elle.” Just a few years later, she appeared at the Chanel show in 1990.

Claudia Schiffer: The supermodel at 50

Karl Lagerfeld’s muse

Success came rapidly for the newbie model. Von Unwerth photographed Claudia for a Guess jeans campaign and in 1988, top designer Karl Lagerfeld (left) declared her to be his muse, also making her the new face of Chanel. Her bright blue eyes shone out from the covers of all the top fashion magazines, and she walked global runways for designers such as Versace, Valentino and Dolce Gabbana.

Claudia Schiffer: The supermodel at 50

The golden age of supermodels

In the 1990s, Claudia (right) was earning around $10 million per year. It was the apex of the supermodel era, a decadent decade filled with alcohol, astronomical fees and first-name global fame. But Claudia’s reputation within the industry was one of discipline and standoffishness. “Maybe I should have had a glass of champagne now and then,” she told German newspaper “Süddeutsche Zeitung” in 2014.

Claudia Schiffer: The supermodel at 50

Enchanted by a magician

In 1993, the then 23-year-old met star magician David Copperfield (right) at a gala in Berlin and became engaged in 1994. Claudia even appeared in some of Copperfield’s stage acts. However, after a few years the magic faded from their romance; in 1997, they announced their split, citing incompatible work schedules. There were rumors that the romance was not real, but just a business relationship.

Claudia Schiffer: The supermodel at 50

Family life

Claudia continued a full-steam modeling career into the early 2000s. But her priorities shifted after marrying film director Matthew Vaughn in 2002 and starting a family. She scaled back her work to spend time with her husband and their three children: Caspar (left), Clementine (right) and Cosima (not pictured).

Claudia Schiffer: The supermodel at 50

Beyond the runway

The Rheinberg-born model made her home in London, where she appeared on a series of 2006 tube ads highlighting German investment (above). Her project portfolio diversified in the new millennium: She launched a cashmere collection in 2011, as well as designed a series of glasses frames for the German eyewear company Rodenstock. She also appeared in a minor role in the hit movie “Love Actually.”

Claudia Schiffer: The supermodel at 50

Tributes to a supermodel

In August 2017, Prestel Verlag published a commemorative book of photos and text tributes from the photographers and designers who have worked with the supermodel. Here, the cover photograph of the book she is signing shows the mother of three in a nude photo by Mario Testino for “Vogue” in Paris in 2007.

Author: Cristina Burack