After eight years at the helm of Kenzo, creative directors Carol Lim and Humberto Leon will be leaving the French house in July, it was announced this morning. Since joining Kenzo in 2011, Lim and Leon, who founded Opening Ceremony in 2002 and quickly became known for their keen eye for discovering emerging talent and later, their own designs, have instilled the Parisian stalwart with a youthful energy. They have embraced streetwear and logomania – sweatshirts printed with roaring tigers became their bestseller – and brought the spirit of Kenzo Takada, the house’s Japanese founder, into the 2010s with eclectic mixed prints and elegant yet off-kilter silhouettes in unexpected fabrications (“we wanted to bring back the fun of the brand,” said Lim following their Kenzo debut).
Lim and Leon’s final outing for Kenzo will take place on June 23 as part of Paris Fashion Week Men’s, where they will present men’s and women’s Spring/Summer 2020 collections. Here, in celebration of Lim and Leon’s tenure at the storied Franco-Japanese label, a look at some of their creations as featured in the pages of AnOther Magazine.
