Humberto Leon and Carol Lim celebrated their first collection for Kenzo with a house party featuring some of their famous friends. The colorful happening saw guests mingling in the courtyard of the company’s Paris headquarters as models paraded in sporty outfits, many in primary shades inspired by the paintings of Ellsworth Kelly. Chloé Sevigny, her hair dyed dark brown, showed off a cobalt taffeta boiler suit. “We went to upstate New York a lot, so we really were inspired by this idea of wearing work wear,” explained Leon.
Wide-legged pants and silk shirts came in an oversize fishnet motif in contrasting shades, often used in clashing combinations, while a bird pattern on cream silk Bermuda shorts was formed by clusters of little seashells. Rivets ran down pant legs and the seams of a long red coat with zipper details, while superwide jade taffeta pants with a paper-bag waist added a glossy sheen. The knowingly hip outfits probably missed the duo’s ambition of designing for “all different types of bodies and ages,” as Leon said, but they delivered enough of a jolt to successfully reposition Kenzo as a more accessible contemporary label.