Humberto Leon and Carol Lim delivered spring with a special memo: “Kenzo would like to remind you that there is no Planet B. Protect what’s precious.”
During the pre-show wait, the message was uttered repeatedly, in several languages, by a female avatar on large digital screens.
It was an au courant point for the duo to make, especially after hundreds of thousands of demonstrators around the world hit the streets last week to demand action ahead of a climate change summit in New York. What it had to do with the collection was another matter altogether.
These sophisticated clothes didn’t signal sustainable and eco, nor did the drive to and from the far-out skateboard-park venue, which, if anything, added to the production’s carbon footprint.
Perhaps it was meant in more abstract terms. In the show notes, Leon and Lim described the collection with words like “Energy,” “Lightness,” “Purity,” “Air” and “Clean.” They zeroed in on these notions with success, showing a polished collection that added something new to the Kenzo vernacular the designers have been establishing — less “jungle print,” more refined silhouette.
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The approach was made via volume. A casually chic oversize denim tunic was shown over a full skirt in a lace that spelled out Kenzo. A white shift dress, meanwhile, featured tiers of ruffles and was worn over a patterned fil coupe skirt. The look was elegant and young, and if it did not save planet Earth, at least it provided a fresh breeze.