OUT OF THIS WORLD: The sci-fi elements woven through Kenzo‘s pre-fall and fall 2024 collections carry over into the brand’s latest ad campaign, with the fashions set against a lunar-like landscape, albeit not as dry as the moon.
“A conversation between the earthly and the galactic” is how the Paris-based house described the concept, meant to blur outer-space elements. Kenzo artist director Nigo achieved a similar effect at his fall fashion show in Paris for Kenzo, in which variations on flak vests, silvery catsuits, jedi robes and fuzzy gloves added a sci-fi sheen, but well shy of a full-on “Star Wars” tribute.
Like George Lucas, who took inspiration from kimonos, samurai armor and other Japanese elements for the costumes in the iconic film franchise without telegraphing any particular national dress, Nigo eased up on direct references to the archives of Kenzo Takada for his fall collections, instead plucking particular techniques, details and methodologies from the late founder.
All this is etched in the still images and video clips in the ad campaign by the Canary Islands-born photographer Lengua, who turned his lens on an ensemble cast dressed in key Kenzo looks for the season.
A look from Kenzo’s pre-fall collection.
Lengua
Lengua is known for work that “explores and challenges conventional ideas of nature,” according to Kenzo.
The campaign, shot in Lanzarote, Spain, portrays the notion of chasing the sunrise across the world, from West to East where it rises, echoing the bridges between Tokyo and Paris that Nigo is keen to explore in his designs.
Among the designs featured are pleated dresses; workwear in a pattern influenced by Japanese fireman jackets; cargo-cum-flight trousers; a metallic sequin bodysuit, and a starry logo T-shirt.