KENZO AW22: NIGO’s Debut Collection

24 January 2022

Kenzo’s AW22 collection marks the beginning of NIGO’s era at the label, with the fashion house’s rich heritage fused with the multihyphenate’s creative vision.

NIGO’s appointment as Kenzo’s Artistic Director represents a pivotal moment in the label’s history. His exuberant vision — one that emphasises the use of bold colours, patterns and experimentation — is something that remains at the very core of the fashion house, with Kenzo Takada founding the label in 1970 with that exact focus.

His debut collection for Kenzo showcases a step in a new direction for the label, though the fashion house’s rich heritage and iconic codes remain ever present. For FW22, NIGO takes a deep dive into the Kenzo archive, bringing to light the bold and carefree approach prevalent throughout the label’s formative years; floral patterns are used in their abundance — with reinterpretations of those early prints used liberally by Takada in the ‘70s — while tailoring is deconstructed and applied to different materials and textures.

NIGO’s aesthetic is immediately clear throughout the collection, with utilitarian styling being a key feature and a heavy use of his go-to material, denim.