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Op-Ed | ‘Kenzo Was Really the First Asian Designer’

Kenzo Takada, the first Asian designer to build a major Parisian fashion brand, redefined a historically white space and paved the way for others to follow, recall former Kenzo co-creative directors Carol Lim and Humberto Leon.
Humberto Leon, model Soo Joo Park, Kenzo Takada and Carol Lim at Kenzo Takada’s birthday party at Paris Fashion Week February 2019 | Source: Rindoff Petroff/Castel/Getty Images
By
  • Carol Lim,
  • Humberto Leon

We wrote him a letter right before we joined, the minute we got our job at Kenzo in June 2011, telling him how honoured we were to be working for his namesake brand. At this time, he didn't actually have anything to do with the brand. But he wrote to us and he said, “I can't wait to see what you have in store, and I see your work and I'm excited.”

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