KENZO’s Artistic Director, Nigo, is pulling out all the stops with the French fashion brand’s latest collection for Spring 2023, ‘Varsity Jungle’. This comes after a successful showing for Spring/Summer 2023 where they featured their own take on the classic preppy university look, effectively kicking off Nigo’s second year with the fashion house.
‘Varsity Jungle’ showcases the brand’s deep appreciation and passion for nature; a tribute to founder Kenzo Takada – particularly through the inclusion of the elephant and the tiger in the collection.
The elephant, said to have the greatest memory among animals, was Takada’s favorite. The late designer, who was himself known for having a good memory, loved to feature representations of elephants in his collections, both as a motif and a symbol. The tiger is another animal that inspired Takada; the very first tiger motif appeared in KENZO collections in 1975.
The elephant varsity wardrobe includes a printed cotton T-shirt (with graphic applied to the front and back), an embroidered jersey sweatshirt, and a jersey cardigan. These are available in black, white, blue, and pink.
The tiger varsity also comprises a printed T-shirt (with graphic applied to the front and back) and an embroidered sweatshirt and cardigan, which are available in black, white, red, and green.
KENZO, as per usual, celebrates the multiculturality of the world, placing an Asian influence in widely-popular Western fashion. For the collection, the elephant graphic that Nigo has designed is informed by 1950s sailor tattoo imagery. The tiger design, also created by Nigo, was introduced as part of KENZO’s Fall/Winter 2022 collection.
On April 12, KENZO celebrated the launch of ‘Varsity Jungle’ at the ArtScience Museum in Singapore. The museum’s architecture was inspired by the image of a lotus flower coming to bloom—it is befitting of another birth that is centered on nature as well; the elephant and tiger through the collection. Together with DJ PRAV, music enveloped the art-filled space, effectively realizing Nigo’s vision of bringing forth youth-centric sensibilities and supporting creative communities in urban subcultures.
Making their presence known in the festivities were celebrities and influencers from all over Asia, from Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia, Taiwan, Thailand, Vietnam, Philippines, and Indonesia, including; Keung To, Austin Lin, Jumpol Adulkittiporn, Glenn Yong, Anh Tu, Quynh Anh Shyn, Laureen Uy, Ayla Dimitri, Anaz Siantar, Nazla Alifa, Yoyo Cao, and Aisyah Aziz.
KENZO at the ArtScience Museum
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The KENZO ‘Varsity Jungle’ collection will be available at KENZO Asia stores starting April 2023. Stay tuned with KENZO for the Asia Regional Event celebration coming in April.
Images courtesy of KENZO