I employ collage as a design technique - the following collages were done intuitively, its production unprecedented by intention or researched knowledge about collage. By doing so, the collages reveal a dialogue between the conscious and my intentional but subconscious and intuitive decisions as a collagist. 

 

These conceptual collages are based on the brand Kenzo, a French luxury fashion house that is known for its exotic and exuberant prints with a youthful energy. As a design exercise, this particular brand was chosen to create an architectural document that is encompassing of Kenzo’s vision. Kenzo Takada travelled all over the world where he appropriated the dress codes of various cultures ostensibly without prejudices or reservations. 

 

Humberto Leon and Carol Lim are the current creative directors of Kenzo since 2012. “Kenzo, as a brand, has such a rich and fascinating history, it can be hard to determine what exactly we have changed... With our new collections, we hope that we have injected the brand with a youthful spirit and a sense of fun and cheekiness. But we also want to respect and preserve the traditions of the Kenzo house, such as the importance of prints and the sense of worldliness and travel that has been intrinsic to every collection in the history of Kenzo.”

 

They have retraced Kenzo’s journey through Asia to Paris and the energy and spirit of Kenzo Takada’s language can be seen in the brand’s clothing. Kenzo Takada always created iconic pieces that were easily recognizable. With Carol and Humberto taking charge, the original label had a drastic makeover and has become the centre of “cool”. They struggle to keep their cult jumpers in store for more than two to three hours at a time. This is the “driving force and secret ingredient for this brand which has the clever ability to tap into and feed the current zeitgeists.” Kenzo has been reborn for a new generation but the two designers have continued Kenzo Takada’s tradition by creating a contemporary wardrobe that incorporates symbols such as the tiger,the eye, the fish and the logo. The following prints and patterns have been appropriated and manipulated into the architectural collage document that I have created.