Kenzo: How the Japanese fashion brand found success

Founder Kenzo Takada died from coronavirus on 4 October

(Rex Features)

“Fashion is not for the few — it is for all the people,” said Kenzo Takada in 1972. “It should not be too serious.”

This week, the fashion world has been in mourning after it was announced that Mr Takada – the founder of luxury Japanese fashion house Kenzo – had died aged 81 after contracting coronavirus.

In a statement, the brand described Mr Takada as having an “emblematic personality” and as a person who “infused creativity and colour into the world”. Meanwhile, an outpouring of love on social media, which included tributes from the likes of supermodels Naomi Campbell and Pat Cleveland, as well as critic Suzy Menkes, so clearly demonstrated the lasting impact he had on the world of fashion.