Kenzo prints nature on variety of easy-to-wear clothes

By Parvathi Nayar Narayan

JAKARTA (JP): Amidst lush tropical foliage, to the beat of a foot-tapping French song from the soundtrack of French Kiss, a pert young thing in an even more pert, ultra-short silk dress beckons to three waiting hunks. Sashaying around in her sinuous, wild jungle print number in bold greens, reds, blues and yellows, teamed with a canary yellow overshirt and brightly patterned knapsack, she saucily contemplates which one to honor with her favor.

The stuff (some) fantasies are made of? Rather, the opening sequence of Kenzo's 1996 Spring-Summer Collection, recently unveiled in Jakarta. "Creations for a more beautiful world" pitches the catalog. In keeping with the current "green" times, the theme of the show flora and fauna. The show offered clothes in a variety of prints -- flowers, fish, butterflies -- in colors that were bright but not shockingly so, in a range of fabrics that included linens, viscose, rayons and mixes.

The women's clothes were mainly coordinates, lots of blouses and skirts, as well as dresses. Kenzo put his own spin to the shift dress, which has been popular this season. Slim and sleeveless in plain fabrics, Kenzo's shifts were in his bright, trademark colors like deep pink and yellow. The addition of a matching jacket or contrasting scarf set the mood as formal or, to use that ubiquitous phrase, smart-casual.

Scarves and bags were attractive accessories. Apart from chic basic black, there were also eye-catching bags in bright colors. These totes, knapsacks and shopping bags in heavy duty canvas had the same fish and floral prints. However, as the models demonstrated, the fun lies in mixing up the prints, not in a bag and dress of the same color or print. Even on their own -- with the right outfit of course -- these knapsacks would make quite an impact.

The prints themselves were exploited to their full potential, appearing in a range of colors and fabrics. A summer bouquet of poppies was seen as a motif both on transparent white, pleated into a flowing skirt, as well as on a black shirt worn over a streamlined and black strap dress. Heady poppies seemed quite the flower statement of the day, seen too as a large single flower print in maroons, on white and on black. These were made up into pleated summery dresses, and slightly dressier ones.

Floral prints were also in evidence as slim suits, which were definitely more interesting, and with a better fit and feel than the plain ones in synthetic, self-designed fabric. Apart from the odd lone houndstooth suit with the trendy three quarter sleeves, the mood of the clothes was more casual, fun. Embroidery provided the occasional accent; a floral mass just on the patch pockets of a plain suit was a detail that enlivened the whole outfit. Despite frequent predictions by fashion pundits that the suit is out, it seems to have the staying power of endless possibilities.

Perhaps in keeping with the popularity of lace this Spring in Paris -- mixed with leather by Versace, layered by Ungaro, fashioned into evening allure by Lagerfeld -- there was some stretch lace on show as short blouses.

The show was dominated with clothes for women, picked equally from Kenzo's two lines, Kenzo Paris and Kenzo Jungle. Men got rather step-sisterly (or brotherly) treatment, with an extremely limited assortment picked from the Kenzo Jeans, Homme and Paris lines. The most interesting menswear on show was the patterned waistcoats, seen teamed with suits.

Naseer B. Hja Latiff, the General Manager (Boutique Division), said he would like to extend the scope of the menswear range in Jakarta, perhaps even encourage men to look beyond the conventional blue/black suits and try experimenting with a little color. He would also like to widen Kenzo's male customer profile, currently consisting of men in their late 20s to early 30s, to include older men. Women of a wider age group shop at Kenzo, he added.

The jungle look is actually vintage Kenzo. Often described as the "most Parisian of Japanese", Kenzo's first boutique in Paris was under his brand name Jungle Jap in the Galerie Vivienne. Already inspired by the stylized images of nature in the paintings of Rousseau, Kenzo's first fashion show at his boutique in 1970 attracted Elle magazine. He was featured on its cover. Kenzo had arrived.

He went on to be famous not just for his clothes, but also the happenings that seemed to surround his collections, such as a circus parade inclusive of trapeze artists (1990-91), and an Indian evening complete with elephants. That he continues to be inspired by nature is obvious from the floral and animal prints on show. Art too is a special source of inspiration, especially the vivid colorists like Gauguin, Matisse and artists of the Fauve school -- so called, incidentally, because of the wildness of their colors.

The entire range of the Kenzo Spring/Summer Collections 1996 is available at Kenzo Boutiques in Plaza Senayan, Plaza Indonesia and Pondok Indah Mall. It is a practical and easy-to-wear collection, unlike the more outrageous concoctions even the fashionably emaciated models would not be caught dead in off the catwalk. Still, what was missing after the funky and fun beginning was a really stunning creation or show stopping ensemble. Fashion these days seems to be more about attitude than hemlines, and while Kenzo's sassier prints, especially the fish and butterflies, lend themselves to this, the remainder tends to fall into the pretty-but-undistinguished category.