Paris (AFP)
Clothes for the urban chic nomads of after-sportswear: this is how the Portuguese designer Felipe Oliveira Baptista solved "the equation of comfort and style" in his first collection for Kenzo, presented on Wednesday in Paris.
"It's a great patchwork of references. I looked at what was most important, the most timeless in Kenzo and brought it back to 2020 by adding my story to it," the 44-year-old stylist told AFP. years appointed artistic director of the brand after the departure of the Californian creators duo Carol Lim and Humberto Leon.
The clothes are loose, but structured for this mixed male and female parade as part of the women's ready-to-wear week autumn-winter 2020-2021, with multitudes of long sweaters or tunics for both sexes.
Parkas unfurl like wings, down jackets evoke sleeping bags. Capes integrated into the caps are superimposed on coats for a more fluid look, evoking the outfits of nomads. The long dresses are structured by zipped frames.
The challenge was to solve "the equation of comfort and style. After basketball and jogging, it was the idea of post-sportswear", explains the stylist.
"I love the mix between formal and sporting things, comfort is always the basis of Kenzo clothing. The idea was revolutionary when Kenzo arrived in Paris, where we wore tailors and more constructed things", he continues.
- Tiger and camouflage in roses -
The colors - gray, black, khaki or sand - come from nature, the camouflage prints are in fact trompe-l'oeil of roses, a wink to the abundant floral prints, dear to the creator of the house, the Japanese Kenzo Takada who sold his clothing brand in 1993 to the luxury giant LVMH.
The flagship print of this parade that we find on dresses is a giant tiger, drawn from the works of Julio Pomar (1926-2018), Lisbon neorealist painter who lived for a long time in Paris, considered one of the greatest figures 20th century Portuguese art.
"I was in Lisbon last year, I discovered this series, it's so beautiful and pure. The painter's son generously gave us access to his work, it's a great collaboration", emphasizes Felipe Oliveira Baptista.
Emotional repositories meet in this collection such as the creator's summer memories in the Azores, a snapshot of his parents, then newlyweds in Mozambique, and the evocations of a dreamed Japan mingle.
"It's the idea of travel, Kenzo's journeys and mine mixed up. I wanted something very universal and very inclusive, but at the same time very true and honest", underlines the creator.
To accommodate this parade, a transparent tubular structure, like a modular nomadic object, was erected in the courtyard of the National Institute of the Young Deaf in Paris, the first school dedicated to teaching young deaf people in the world.
The structure will be reused in other forms for presentations and pop-up stores, promises the house.
"My project for Kenzo is to expand the brand and make functional clothing for all ages," he concludes.
A graduate of the prestigious Kingston art and design university in London, the Portuguese took his first steps in fashion in Milan before settling in Paris.
He created his own house in 2003 and twice received the ANDAM (National Association for the Development of Fashion Arts) award.
From 2010 to 2018, he was the artistic director of the Lacoste group, which he revived, in the opinion of experts in the sector, with the principle of innovative limited series.
© 2020 AFP