Cross-cultural influences converge in the work of renowned fashion designer Kenzo Takada, who marks a new milestone with the launch of lifestyle and homeware brand K3 in Paris
It’s been more than two decades since pioneering fashion designer Kenzo Takada quit his namesake brand in 1999, but he has never stopped creating. After taking several years off to travel, he started to miss work and decided to join the world of home decoration, a field in which products have a longer shelf life than the feverish pace of fashion collections.
Now, at the age of 81 and overflowing with unbridled energy, Takada has launched a new home and lifestyle brand in collaboration with managing partner Jonathan Bouchet Manheim and creative assistant Engelbert Honorat. Three years in the making, K3—whose logo is represented in Japanese characters by three horizontal strokes—made its debut with a 300-piece collection crafted by Italian and Japanese artisans. Presented at the Maison & Objet fair held in January in Paris, the brand also simultaneously opened its first showroom on the city’s Left Bank.
For Takada, design is about the art of living. “Design can be used to improve your sense of well being through the use of colours and patterns together. It’s about harmony, joy, comfort and contrasts,” he says. “For K3, we want to bring a mix of cultures, poetry and joie de vivre (joy of life in French). My ideal interior is one where comfort invites you to stay at home. I like something that is soft and poetic, not aggressive. I like to dream.” For instance, his wallcoverings propose peaceful images of the sky and landscapes, providing the impression of escape.
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