Art director Nigo revives founder Takada Kenzo's signature imprint in new collection

Inspired by the Ivy League spirit – the style that permeates many of the brand’s collections, Art Director Nigo presents the playful KENZO Varsity Jungle for spring 2023.

Art director Nigo revives founder Takada Kenzo’s signature imprint in new collection

The collection presents two distinct prints – elephant and tiger – to honor Takada and his legacy. Elephants, the animal with the best memory of all, are Takada’s favorite animals. The late designer, known for his good memory, used elephants in many of his collections, both as a motif and as a symbol. The tiger is also the animal that inspired Takada; Tiger motifs first appeared in KENZO’s collection in 1975.

The elephant image designed by Nigo is inspired by the tattoos of sailors who lived in the 1950s. The designer also introduced a tiger image in the KENZO Fall Winter 2022 collection.

KENZO’s college-style elephant print collection includes printed cotton t-shirts on both front and back, embroidered sweatshirts, and jersey cardigans, available in black, white, blue, and pink. The tiger print collection includes a T-shirt with both front and back prints, an embroidered cardigan, and a cardigan, available in black, white, red, and green.

To introduce the Varsity Jungle collection, KENZO teamed up with photographer Frank Lebon to create an advertising campaign that celebrates the values of family and team unity and cohesion through designs featuring tigers and tigers. KENZO’s signature elephant. Images in the campaign show a diverse group of characters that are meticulously designed and outfitted to convey the cohesive spirit of a community.