Of all the H&M designer collaborations, Kenzo’s is the most interesting in recent memory, not least because there’s been no clear idea of what to expect. The storied Japanese brand, directed by Opening Ceremony’s Humberto Leon and Carol Lim, has become revitalized in recent years. With this initial image from the new collection, the designers told Vogue they’d be diving into the archives of founder Kenzo Takada. We’ll be desperate to wait in line for this joint.
And it means, apparently, that we’re going to get the wildest of it: here, bright tiger-striped leggings and tops with leather gloves and contrasting boots. They’re modeled on Leon and Lim’s friends, mimicking Takada’s impulse to stage runway shows based on real-life; above, Amy Sall, the founder of SUNU, a critical journal about African affairs, and Juliana Huxtable, DJ/artist/poet and the closest thing New York has to an it-girl at the moment.
Below, they’ve featured artist Oko Ebombo and makeup artist Ismaya Ffrench, in a rubbery parka and a covetable pink shearling-style jacket. The bodysuit appearance of the top and leggings are giving full Grace Jones ferocity, and for once I think I might actually try to cop some of this shit from the outset.
Leon told Vogue that there’s more to come, starring “people we admire, icons in their own fields, people who are influential beyond their fashion sensibility.”