KENZO TAKADA - RENEGADES OF FASHION

At a time when Parisian fashion was relegated to the elite, Japanese import Kenzo Takada stirred the established code of couture by cheekily breaking the rules and ushering in the notion that design need not take itself so seriously in order to be enjoyed. With his keen eye for bold and vivacious colours, eclectic and multi-cultural patterns; and a flair for the theatrical that turned every collection into an eagerly awaited extravaganza, Takada injected fashion with a sense of joyous wonder that echoes through to designers of the modern era. Born in 1939 in a small village within the city of Himeji, Takada was the fifth of seven children in his family. His childhood was complicated and with good reason: he suffered from dyslexia at an early age, and oral expression remains a challenge for him until this day. “I feel as if I don’t know how to speak, Takada has said – and yet Takada is a man who has amplified the means of expressing oneself through fashion. Takada’s love for couture developed as