KENZO’s Spring Summer 2021 collection is optimistic, hopeful and oh-so timely. The references, ideas and concepts of this collection are as eclectic, varied and contrasted as the states of mind that Felipe Oliveira Baptista, creative director, went through since the beginning of the pandemic.

Dichotomies have never been so visibly contrasted and harsh. The world is crying, so are the flowers in all the prints developed for the collection. Archival Kenzo poppies and hortensias were given a digital crying effect. From flowers the primal feeling of protection and cocooning came an ode to the bees, the regulators of the planet.

Now, more than ever we are overwhelmed by a sense of urgency to take care and protect our world. The collection features bees and the beekeepers with their mesmerizing clothing and hats that echo so strongly the fragility and distance imposed and needed today.

Commenting on his experience, and in presenting this collection, Felipe Oliveira Baptista wrote:

I have never started a collection with so many questions in front of me and so many mixed feelings about the present and the future. Surely no one can expect linear answers to the current situation.

The world is lost and everyone must try to find some sort of sense (and possible order) in it.

How can one define and pretend to give answers to a reality that no one understands or fully comprehends? How can one draw conclusions from a situation that is far from ending and in which the consequences are impossible to grasp?

The world is ill, the world is bleeding, but it is still alive. And, as long as there is life there is hope. An optimistic answer must come with a certain degree of pragmatism. So, where do we go from here? How do we move on? How can we help people? Make them dream? give them hope and at the same time facilitate their lives.

The references, ideas and concepts of this collection are as eclectic, varied and contrasted as the states of mind that I went through since the beginning of the pandemic. Dichotomies have never been so visibly contrasted and harsh. The world is crying, so are the flowers in all the prints we have developed for the collection.

Archival Kenzo poppies and hortensias were given a digital crying effect. From flowers the primal feeling of protection and cocooning came an ode to the bees, the regulators of the planet. Now, more than ever we are overwhelmed by a sense of urgency to take care and protect our world. Bees and the beekeepers with their mesmerizing clothings and hats that echo so strongly the fragility and distance imposed and needed today.

Going places… mirage of dreams, hope, excitement and discovery. We will not give that up. Clothes that transform themselves to adapt to all situations. The fully covered and protected becomes fragile and naked, daring danger and rules.

Kenzo has always been about fun, celebration and optimism. These cravings were pure fuel in the creative process. We wanted to put that raw, daring and curious energy into the clothes and into everything related to the collection. Almost like an optimistic version of punk. It is time to look at things differently and from new perspectives. Time to pull everything apart and put it back together again in a surprising, free and innovative yet meaningful way.

Again the dichotomies to portrait a celebration of life that is both : joyful / melancholic, high / low, covered / naked, delicate / bold, fearful / optimistic, protection / exposure, accidental / controlled, surprises / pragmatism and stillness / movement.

Be caring, Be brave Bee a Tiger

Felipe.

KENZO is located at The Avenues and 360MALL. For more information, visit Alyasra Fashion on Instagram @Alyasra.