Kenzo Takada

Born in Hyogo Prefecture the 27 febrary in 1939, Japon. He is a Japanese fashion designer and founder of the brand Kenzo, an international brand of perfumes, clothing and skin care products.

Takada developed her love of fasion from an early age, particularly reading her sister's magazine's. He briefly attended the Universuty of Kobe, where he felt bored and eventually retired, against the wishes of his parents. In 1958, he entered in Tokyo Buka College, wich har recently opened doors to male students.

Afte receiving her diploma, he settled in Paris in 1964, and he tried to gain a place in the world of fashion bye attending events, making contacts with the media and selling sketches.


Kenzo's first designs were born of fabrics from the bazaar that was the only thing he could afford. As a result, Kenzo had to mis many bold designs together to form a garment.

Kenzo's success came in 1970: during this year he presented his first show at Vivienne Gallery; Opened its first store, "Jungle jap"; And one of his models appeared on the cover of ELLE. Her collection was presented in New York in 1971. The following year she won the Fashion Editor Club of Japan. Kenzo proved his ability for dramatic appearances when in 1978 and 1971 he performed his shows in a circus tent and ended with women on horseback wearing uniforms with transparencies and himself on an elephant.

His first collection for men was made in 1983. In 1988, he began his line of feminine perfumes with Kenzo by Kenzo (known as Ça Sent Beau, Feels Good), Aroma de verano (Parfum d'été), El mundo es bello Le monde est beau) and Kenzo's water (L'eau).

In 1991 he launched his first men's perfume Kenzo pour Homme. FlowerbyKenzo is launched in 2000 and has become the flagship fragrance for the Kenzo perfume brand. In 2001, it launched KenzoKI, a line of products for the skin care.

2010

Since 1993 the Kenzo brand belongs to LVMH, a French luxury goods company.

Kenzo Takada announced his retirement in 1999, leaving his attendant in charge of his fashion empire. In 2005, she reappeared as a decorator presenting Gokan Kobo (workshop of the five senses), a brand of tableware, household objects and furniture.

Yohji Yamamoto

He was born in 1943, and is an influential Japanese fashion designer, installed in Tokyo and Paris. Cosidered a master tailor with Madeleine Vionet, he's known for his avant-garden tailoring with the aesthetics of Japanese design.

Yamamo has won awards for her contributions to fashion, including the Chevalier of Ordre des Arts et des Lettres, Medal of Honor with Purple Ribbon, the ordre national du Merite, the Royal Designer for Indutry and the Master of Desig award bye Fashion Group International.

Born in Tokyo, Yamamoto graduated from Keio Univertity with a degree in law in 1966, but he gave up a prospective legal career to assist his mother in his dreemaking business, from where he learned his tailorin skillis. In Bunka Fashion College, he getting a degree in 1969.

Yamamoto debuted in Paris in 1981, in an itervie with the New York Times in 1983, he said "I think that my men's clothes look as good on women as mi women's clothig look as good on men." "When I started making clothes fon my line Y's in 1977, all I wanted was for women to wear men's clothes. I jumped on the idea of designing coats for women. It meant something to me -the idea of a coast guadring and hiding a woman's body, I wanted to protect the woman's body from something, maybe from men's ayes or a cold wind."

Hos commercially successful main line, Yohji Yamamoto (women/men) and Y's, are especially popular in Tokyo. These two lines are also available at his falgship stores in Paris and Antwerp, and at hitgh-end departament stores worldwide. Other principal lines include Pour Homme, Costume d'Homme, and the diffusion line Coming Soon. Yohji Yamamoto Inc reported in 2007 that the sales of Yamamoto's two main lines average above $100 million anually.

Yamamoto is known for an avant-garden spirit in his clothing, frequently creating designs far removed from current trends. His signature versize silhoulettes often feature drapery in varying textures. Yohji's collections are predominately made in black, a colour wich Yamamoto has described as "Modest and arrogant at the same time, black ir lazy and easy but mysterious,  au above all black says this: I don't bother you, dont bother me."

Yamamoto's work has also become familiar to consumers through his collaborations with ther fashion brands, includding Adidas (Y-3). Hermés, Mikimoto and Mandarina Duck; and with artistis genres, such as Tina Turner, Sir Elton John, Placebo, Takeshi Kitano, Pina Bausch and Heiner Müller.

Poor desisions bye finance managers pushed the brand into debts of more than 65 million US dollars in 2009, wich angered Yamamoto and led to a company restructuring from 2009 to 2010. The private equity firm Integral Corp was indefitified as the Japanese company who will restructure the Yohji Yamamoto Inc and by November 2010 the company was out od debt and avoiding the risk of bankruptcy.

Issey Miyaki

Issey Miyake, born in Hiroshima April 22, 1938, is a Japanese fashion designer, a specialist in masterfully combining design and technology in the conceptual exploration of the natural, both in his collections and in his designs.

His yearning was to succeed as a fashion designer, and in 1959 he took a course in graphic arts at the famous Tama Art University in Tokyo. Upon graduation, he moved to Paris to expand his studies at the École de la Chambre Syndicale de la Couture Parisienne . Two years later he obtained his first work with Guy Laroche in 1966, and then in 1968 he entered Givenchy. The following year he moved to New York where he worked in collaboration with Geoffrey Beene. In 1970 he opened his own design studio in Tokyo, a kind of laboratory where he experimented with various fabrics, clothing methods and Japanese spinning techniques to create lighter and more artificial fabrics. In addition, they also worked on the creation of polyester jersey garments that had a new fall and enveloped the body as a second skin.

First Collection

In 1971 he founded Miyake International Incorporated, and so was born his first collection, born in New York. His second collection was presented in Paris in 1973, and this was the one that definitely positioned him in the world of fashion. Until that time, he had remained faithful to his radical design philosophy, but in the 1980s changed his orientation to make his clothes a little more practical and to throw his characteristic pleated costumes on the street.

Issey Miyake is one of Japan's most respected and well-known designers, his designs are not known as clothing, or prêt-à-porter sets, but as art architecture. His clothes do not dress the body separating it, protecting it and differentiating it from the environment that surrounds it, but it delivers it in complete harmony. In his creative process, the designer gives himself over to the materials and lets them be the ones who define his style. The first step in receiving the materials is to discover their natural inclinations. The silhouette that draws its fall and the sensations that it causes in the skin will be the ones that define its destiny. Miyake has made use of the most advanced textile technology, which has allowed him to almost completely banish the use of buttons, seams and other elements unrelated to the essence of the garment.

One of the greatest ambitions of the designer has been to create an intrinsically oriental garment that is the equivalent of the American Texan for its practicality, comfort and reach. And in 1998, Pleats Please appears. It is a collection created in pleated polyester fabrics, which have not shifted to the Texan, but has become the line that more scope and recognition has given.

Issey Miyake by Naoiki Takizawa

Historically the brand was distinguished by its innovation, the collections of Issey Miyake share a continuous focus on the importance of imagination and the search for new methods with which to create gifts. The men's and women's collections focus on an innovative perspective in which the whole process is just as important as the outcome. In 1999 Naoki Takizawa assumed the role of principal designer of the two lines and has continued with the task of innovating in fabrics and forms. He joined the Miyake Designe Studio after graduating and instantly initialized the creation of garments through the constant search for materials and fabrics. In 1993 he was in charge of the men's line Miyake, and in 1999 was named main designer of the collections of Issey Miyake.

Naoki Takizawa

A-POC is a brand new concept in apparel and takes Issey Miyake to one of its original concepts: to create clothing from a single piece. From this principle the line takes its name, since A-POC means "a piece of clothing". Through a unique technology, a computer-controlled loom creates a three-dimensional garment in a single process. This line has been designed, since 2000, by the creator of the brand, who delegated the design of the men's and women's collections to Naoki Takizawa and returned to his pursuit of innovation and experimentation in clothing. A-POC is available only at TribecaISSEYMIYAKE.

HaaT is a line that combines everyday clothes with the distinctive luxury and exclusivity of the brand designs. Its essence comes from Makiko Minagawa, the Creative Director, who believed that traditional techniques can be given life in a contemporary context. Specific techniques of knitting, embroidery and dyeing gathered from different countries and cultures, and combined in detailed garments. Minagawa has long been a collaborator of Issey Miyake, and the Textile Director of the Miyake Design Studio. She uses her expertise to develop new textiles that are light and soft to the touch, and to blend traditional crafts with modern materials and production processes.

Issey Miyake launched his first L'Eau d'Issey fragrance in 1992. The essence of this fragrance is inspired by the idea of water as an essential element in all life. This essence is light, with a floral mixture, musky and with woody tones. Miyake continued with a L'Eau d 'Issey Pour Homme fragrance for men launched in 1994, inspired by the strong, refreshing and agile qualities of water. The fragrance is fresh, with wood essences. In 2004 was launched the new fragrance for men L'Eau Bleue d'Issey Pour Homme. TribecaISSEYMIYAKE charges Issey Miyake's full line of fragrances.

Rei Kawakubo

Born on October 11, 1942 in Tokyo, Japan. Is the founder of Commes des Garcons. However, she never studied fashion, because she graduate in Philosophy and Literature at Keio University, and upon graduating from college in 1964, she began working in a textile company in the advertising department, beginning Make his own clothes, and a decade later, he decided to create his own signature. She is also known because of Edna Moda, a character in The Incredibles, as her character and personality inspired the creators of the film.

When Commes des Garcons was created, Rei decided to come to Paris, achieving it a decade later, in charge of reinventing all the canons of gender, beauty and sewing in the fashion industry. When she arrived in Paris, she showed a collection of black dresses that were destroyed, along with Issey Miyake and Yohji Yamamoto, (I'll tell you about them later), a trend in international fashion during the 1980s, showing a style that defied the glamorous Western style, being austere and deconstructive with a feeling of anti-fashion. She also wanted to break sexism in fashion using his own color code, and served as inspiration for other designers like Martin Margiela and Ann Demeulemeester, both from Belgium, and the Australian Helmut Lang.

Issey Miyake

                                                                   Yohji Yamamoto

Thanks to the success achieved create a line for men, who, shortly after, leave a load of Junya Watanabe next to the another(Como des Garcons Tricot).

At present, this brand has twelve product lines:

• ·         Comme des Garçons
• ·         Comme des Garçons Comme des Garçons
• ·         Tricot Comme des Garçons
• ·         Comme des Garçons Robe De Chambre (descontinued)
• ·         Comme des Garçons noir
• ·         Comme des Garçons Homme
• ·         Comme des Garçons Homme Plus
• ·         Comme des Garçons Homme Plus Evergreen
• ·         Comme des Garçons Homme Deux
• ·         Comme des Garçons Shirt
• ·         Play Comme des Garçons
• ·         Comme des Garçons Parfums

This year, the MET gala was dedicated to the long trajectory of this designer from Japan.