Iconic Franco-Japanese fashion designer Kenzo Takada has died from Covid-19 on Sunday. He was famous for his jungle-infused designs and free spirited aesthetic that channeled global travel.
According to a statement by his family, Takada died from Covid-19 complications at the age of 81 in a hospital near Paris.
Takada's fashion house issued a statement on their instagram handle and expressed grief on his death.
"It is with immense sadness that Kenzo has learned of the passing of our founder… for half a century, Mr. Takada has been an emblematic personality in the fashion industry – always infusing creativity and colour into the world," it posted.
Kenzo Takada remains one of the most respected fixtures of the high Paris fashion even though he had retired from his house on 1999 to pursue a career in art.
Since 1993, the brand Kenzo has been owned owned by the French luxury goods company LVMH. The current designer Felipe Oliveira Baptista unveiled Kenzo's spring-summer 2020 to fashion editors on Wednesday.
Takada was born on February 27, 1939, in Himeji, in the Hyogo Prefecture in Japan to hoteliers, but after reading his sisters' fashion magazines his love of fashion began.
Studying at the Bunka College of Fashion in Tokyo, Kenzo Takada had a brief stint working in Japan, before relocating to Paris in 1965, to work as a freelance designer.
His contribution to style was significant and championed a youthful aesthetic and unstructured form, and did away with zippers to liberate silhouettes.
