{"id":135239,"date":"2020-12-21T13:55:27","date_gmt":"2020-12-21T18:55:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/models.com\/oftheminute\/?p=135239"},"modified":"2020-12-21T14:45:13","modified_gmt":"2020-12-21T19:45:13","slug":"in-their-own-words-models-remember-designer-kenzo-takada","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/models.com\/oftheminute\/?p=135239","title":{"rendered":"In Their Own Words, Models Remember Designer Kenzo Takada"},"content":{"rendered":"

As the end of 2020 comes upon us, and we look back at this tumultuous year; one of the biggest losses to the fashion industry was legendary designer Kenzo<\/a>. Kenzo Takada, 81, passed away this past October, in France from COVID 19 related complications. The iconic designer was such a celebrated personage outside of fashion that Japan\u2019s top government spokesman, Chief Cabinet Secretary Katsunobu Kato, expressed \u201csincere condolences\u201d following the death of Takada, who \u201cimparted our nation\u2019s arts and culture to the world\u201d<\/a>. France’s President Emmanuel Macron and his wife, also released a statement<\/a> remembering Takada, recognizing his life and achievements in France and beyond. Kenzo gained worldwide prominence as the first Japanese fashion designer to achieve global recognition and was applauded for many reasons: his ability to make fashion fun, irreverent, wearable and exciting; his exploration and celebration of different cultures especially his own; his long-lasting presence in Paris-where he planned to visit for only six months but ended up staying for 56 years<\/a>. Kenzo’s emergence on the Paris fashion scene in the ’70s as a dynamic and exciting presence invigorated the industry but it was the unbeatable combination of visionary designer and incredibly kind and fun-loving person that cemented his legacy in the industry. As 2020 comes to a close, we talked to 6 models who gave us a peek into the man behind the legend.<\/p>\n