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Take a peek behind the scenes
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This third issue is a tribute to the Kenzo Family and its festive spirit. Through the 192 pages of this issue, filled with previously unpublished archives, we give a voice and a face to those who, behind the scenes, have shaped the destiny of the Kenzo fashion house.
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A focus on the festive fashion shows
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[...] Ready-to-wear had invaded the streets and made haute-couture obsolete, and Kenzo’s brand embodied—perhaps more than any other—the carefree spirit of the time. When Kenzo Takada's associate, Gilles Raysse, happened to visit the hall of the Bourse du Commerce, he seized the opportunity. “It was unused, totally empty,” he recalls. “I thought, ‘Holy shit, what a magnificent place to put on a show!’ [...]
For several seasons, thousands of people crowded the entrance, far more than the venue’s capacity. “I guarded the door like Cerberus,” explains Gilles Raysse. [...] The police intervened regularly.
Internally, the atmosphere remained that of a young, carefree brand. Laurie Heim, press officer for the brand from 1974 to 1980, recalls the first fashion show in which she participated: “We left [from the atelier] rue Sainte-Anne carrying all the clothes racks, walking single-file to the Bourse de Commerce. It was all incredibly home-made! None of the journalists had allocated seats; if they arrived late, they had nowhere to sit. Everyone was pushing each other, Gilles was screaming at the entrance, it was crazy.” [...]
Claire Beghin-Hassoun
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Meet Deanna Ferretti
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[...] In Italy, every town has its own hidden treasure. [...] Following the route Kenzo Takada took so many times, we reached an industrial-looking building bearing the sign “Modateca Deanna”. It’s impossible to imagine the significance of what this site holds: a gold mine, a fantastical cave, almost a holy place for worshippers of fashion gods.
[...] On one side are the offices, with wooden furniture straight out of the 70s, shelves crammed with fashion books, and even a small bar. [...] In the other wing of the complex stretch hundreds and hundreds of square yards where samples and old prototypes have replaced machines and production lines.
Located in San Martino in Rio, some twenty minutes from Reggio Emilia, the former factory has been renamed “Modateca” (“Fashion Library” in English) and bears the name of Deanna Ferretti Veroni, known throughout Italy as the “Queen of Knitwear”.
[...] For twenty years, she accompanied Kenzo Takada in the development and production of his designs. Her story both reflects knitwear’s remarkable evolution and a woman’s own entrepreneurial adventure, from 1950s Italy to the studios of the greatest designers of the 20th century. [...]
Yvane Jacob
CONTENTS
The Biography: Take a behind-the-scenes look at Kenzo through the stories and personalities that have shaped its history.
The Bigger Picture: a dive into the festive atmosphere of Kenzo's fashion shows.
Miss Deanna: Meet the woman who produced Kenzo's iconic knitwear for 20 years.
K'enzo's many masculine forms: Discover the three personalities behind one of Kenzo's most important lines: menswear.
Label's chronology: Our essential tool for dating your vintage Kenzo pieces.
Kenzo, The World is Beautiful : A post-colonial look at Kenzo Takada's cultural inspirations.
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