Kenzo’s Beatles-Inspired A/W´23 Show

Artistic director Nigo’s third collection since joining Kenzo is the designer’s answer to The White Album, writes Anders Christian Madsen. See all of the highlights from the menswear presentation, below.

Everyone was there

For his third show since joining Kenzo as artistic director in 2021, Nigo changed things up. He swapped the house’s cosy Sunday afternoon slot for a more glamorous Friday evening appointment, and took out the Salle Pleyel music venue for a grand orchestration with what must have been the most illustrious guest list this Paris Fashion Week: Pharrell, Skepta, Tyga, Troye Sivan, Erika Jayne, Lisa Rinna, Matthew M Williams, and the list goes on. The turnout spoke volumes about the appeal of Nigo’s work at Kenzo, and the Friday night concert hall concept suited the glamour that surrounds him.

It was Nigo’s The White Album

A huge fan of The Beatles, Nigo likened the collection to The White Album. It was his way of explaining – in terms that make sense to scholars of the group – the eclectic mix of styles and genres that make up this proposal. Scored by the all-female 1966 Quartet, who played renditions of The Beatles in a live performance, it took its point of departure in the rocker and mod cultures of ’60s London. A devoted collector of vintage clothes, Nigo’s vast archives are filled with pieces from the era, which he uses as references for his work, and which create the authenticity that was so visible in the tailoring of this collection.

Nigo paid tribute to Dame Vivienne Westwood

Nigo’s reflections on ’60s British subculture evolved into a study of the heritage country wardrobe – backed up by a collaboration with Hunter that included field jackets and wellies adorned with Kenzo’s boke flower – and the associations that naturally follow: the tartans of the Highlands and their punk interpretations, a road that had to lead to the late Dame Vivienne Westwood, whom Nigo said has been an influence throughout his career. (His vintage archives count a considerable amount of her creations from The Red Label era onwards.) In a season that hasn’t paid enough tribute to Westwood following her death just three weeks ago, Nigo’s gesture was heart-warming.

It debuted a new sneaker

If the ’60s and ’70s references were Nigo’s personal contributions to the many facets of the collection, the ’80s elements that followed were very much rooted in the legacy of Kenzo Takada. Little ruffled dresses and roomier tailoring silhouettes drew on his collections from the decade, with all the collaged flower motifs and broken stripe patterns that came with the territory. It pushed the show into ’90s skateboarding culture – an area close to the heart of Nigo – expressed most prominently in the voluminous sneakers he has studiously been working on since joining the house and was finally ready to launch. They were worth the wait.

Nigo increased his Japanese techniques

Throughout the collection – whichever era or subculture garments referenced – Nigo imbued the cuts of tailoring, dresses and the workwear in which he excels with Japanese construction. Y-shaped jacket closures and box pleat mega-flared trousers were inspired by the uniforms of kendo (Nigo practised in school), and sashiko quilting – likewise used in kendo sportswear – was applied to every fabric under the sun. He adorned it all in his eccentric Kenzo graphics, including a goldfish motif in homage to the Japanese symbol of good fortune-