Kenzo collaborates with Levi’s for first-time under Nigo’s design direction

Kenzo has collaborated with Levi’s on a 20-piece AW23 men’s and women’s capsule collection, launching today, for the first time under the direction of its Artistic Director, Nigo, who has a track record of working with Levi’s for his own brand.

Veteran Japanese streetwear designer Nigo, who founded A Bathing Ape in 1993 and partnered with Pharrell Williams in 2005 to launch Billionaire Boys Club, took over the artistic reins at LVMH-owned Kenzo in September 2021 but has continued to do his own thing too – notably with Levi’s for SS23 in celebration of the 150th anniversary of its famous 501 jeans.

However, this new collaboration is "fusing the cultural heritages of the Parisian-Japanese fashion house and the American apparel company", with garments and accessories crafted mainly in Kaihara premium Japanese denim.

The capsule collection epitomises the "real-to-wear" functionality key to Nigo’s Kenzo approach. An avid collector of historical clothing, the designer’s archives in Japan hold a considerable catalogue of American denim pieces, including original Levi Strauss & Co. workwear created for cowboys and miners.

His passion for denim and its place in fashion history is reflected in the legacy of Kenzo Takada (who founded the Kenzo brand in Paris in 1970), whose interest in the ease and democratic spirit of denim inspired him to launch the Kenzo Jeans line in 1986.

Together, those components "make up a wardrobe founded in a conversation between Americana, Japanese construction, and the genetics of Kenzo Takada", which inspired this connection between Kenzo and Levi’s.

Pieces in the Kenzo x Levi’s capsule collection are co-branded with a marque uniting the classic Levi Strauss & Co. "two horse pull" iconography with the Kenzo logo. Metal Levi’s shanks are embossed with Kenzo’s emblematic Boke flower, while back pockets feature the iconic Levi’s arcuate stitching. Embroidered Kenzo logos appear above pockets as a nod to the chain-stitched name badges placed on uniforms by factory workers in the early 20th century.

Garments in the collection are adorned in two motifs: a Sashiko print imitating the traditional Japanese stitching technique, and an archive floral print revived from the Kenzo Jeans line.

Outerwear in the collection includes a denim jacket with a detachable faux fur collar, and a denim fringe jacket with western yokes - both inspired by 1980s archival pieces from the Kenzo Jungle line.

The Levi’s 'Type II Trucker Jacket' from 1967 has been reimagined in red satin with a Boke flower embroidery and western details, and also in a vintage-washed denim version, hand-distressed in Japan.

Denim blazers, inspired by the iconic Levi’s denim tuxedo once worn by Bing Crosby, combine tailoring with jean jackets and include a men’s jacket adorned with a trompe l’oeil Sashiko print and a women’s jacket rendered in the reinvigorated Kenzo Jeans floral print.

There’s also a denim shirt featuring chain-stitch and sawtooth pocket detailing, and sleeveless button-down denim dresses inspired by Kenzo Takada pieces from the 1980s.

Dungarees, "informed by the original Levi’s archetype" appear in a dark indigo rinse and another covered in the trompe l’oeil Sashiko print, and Levi’s 501 jeans include a vintage-washed denim interpretation, hand-distressed in Japan, and a rinse indigo denim adaptation with leather and denim suspenders inspired by the original Levi’s 501 jean from 1933.

On the accessories side, a denim tie "complements the capsule collection’s conversation between workwear and tailoring", while a denim cardholder puts the Kenzo chain stitch centre stage.

Paying "homage to the East meets West sensibility" of the line, the artwork of a Kenzo red western bandana integrates with Levi’s iconography.

The campaign to go with the new collection was shot in Kyoto, Japan, by Japanese filmmaker Umi Ishihara. His work "fuses documentary and fiction styles to capture the collection in cinematic moving imagery".

The new collection is available now on both the Kenzo and Levi’s websites in stores and on the Levi’s App.