The new fall/winter 2023 campaign by Kenzo juxtaposes two Japanese cities and reimagines their influence on Nigo’s latest creations for the house
Kenzo’s cross-culture dialogue continues to blossom in its fall/winter 2023 collection as Nigo, the house’s artistic director, revisited his Japanese heritage and mixed it with America’s street culture and British attitude.
The juxtaposition was manifested through the cuts, silhouettes and various other components of the collection, starting with the kimono-inspired jacket and the wide-leg trousers—which is also reminiscent of traditional Japanese clothing—along with the leather coat inspired by American military uniforms. All of these are then paired with the codes of British elegance.
The dialogue between cultures is further reflected in Kenzo’s recent campaign that took place in Osaka and Kyoto. To capture Nigo’s East-Meets-West approach, Kenzo has featured an ensemble cast of models to represent the campaign. Of particular note is Kenzo’s new brand ambassador Vernon, a member of K-Pop group Seventeen. The most intriguing part of the campaign is that Nigo himself shows up as a cameo in the campaign’s film, wearing the collection’s emblematic broken-stripe Dazzle motif, which is inspired by the 1980s archives of Kenzo Takada.
Shot by Keizo Kitajima and filmed by Frank Lebon, the campaign stages the diverse identities of the two cities: Osaka’s vivid street culture and underground youth energy, contrasted by Kyoto’s historical surroundings. The result is a series of dazzling photographs and a film portraying a stylistic suspension between traditional and modern wardrobes.
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