For the KENZO Spring-Summer 2023 Campaign, Artistic Director Nigo distils the timeless vision of the Maison into an essential message for a new-generation mentality. Capturing the values embodied by his practice at KENZO – worldliness, inclusivity, individuality – the campaign personifies the multi-faceted and optimistic nature of Nigo’s work in a character-centric cast portrayed in on-location imagery by Jalan and Jibril Durimel, in studio imagery by Paulo Sutch, and in moving imagery by Franck Lebon.
Illustrating the elements that underpin his creative language, Nigo establishes a continuous triptych for the campaign: codes, characters and locations. If cross-cultural and history-driven codes are what define
the KENZO collections, characters and locations bring them to life. They take form in three photographic formats that unify into one, centred around an international all-star cast: skateboarder and musician Lil Dre, vocalist Nina Utashiro, and models Moses Battiest, Ama Elsesser, Sunmoon Jung,
Lily McMenamy, Omar Sesay, Lulu Tenney and Bomi Youn. A symbol of East-meets-West connectivity, the nautical spirit of the KENZO Spring- Summer 2023 Collection takes centre stage in emblematic pieces: the sailor jacket, the marin-collared varsity jacket and the dixie cup, as well as workwear and tailoring in Wavy Check, Micro Pixel and ‘dripping’ jacquard that evokes water.
On-location portraits shot in the urban beach setting of Los Angeles by the French-born American photographers Jalan and Jibril Durimel incarnate the cast in their communal environment, while studio portraits and still lifes by the Brazilian photographer Paulo Sutch magnify the characters and
codes of the campaign. In short films captured by Franck Lebon on the beach of L.A., the KENZO characters introduce themselves and interpret the letters of the Maison’s name in improvised acronyms distinct to their personal dreams and values.
