Marc Jacobs - Designer

[oioioi]

I mean, that was what Kenzo looked like wayyy back with Gilles Rosier and also Antonio Marras - I wouldn’t mind if they returned to that kind of esprit, perhaps with Sander Lak or Christian Wijnants at the helm? Either one would make for a good fit.

Both are probably too niche for LVMH (arguably also the general public that LVMH would like to attract), unless they chose a route a bit in the vein of Julian Klausner for Dries, Chemena for Chloe type (less strictly niche designers but handling the fashion image/pov of a smaller brand with some commercially successful accessories/shoes). Then again LVMH are not really known for taking 'risks' or number two's with appointments and it's usually someone already established and ok with the corporate side.
Hope they can make a comeback, with the right management dedication and CD.

 

[tricotineacetat]

Both are probably too niche for LVMH (arguably also the general public that LVMH would like to attract), unless they chose a route a bit in the vein of Julian Klausner for Dries, Chemena for Chloe type (less strictly niche designers but handling the fashion image/pov of a smaller brand with some commercially successful accessories/shoes). Then again LVMH are not really known for taking 'risks' or number two's with appointments and it's usually someone already established and ok with the corporate side.
Hope they can make a comeback, with the right management dedication and CD.

I wouldn’t overestimate the value of a designer’s likeliness for a creative director position if they rose through the ranks of storied luxury goods maisons owned by the big conglomerates - The hirings of this year don’t comfirm that trend, also keeping in mind that Carol Lim and Humberto Leon were themselves unexpected choices for Kenzo.

I don’t have the impression that LVMH would want to invest in a very high-profile designer for Kenzo after Nigo and for that, Wijnants could make for a solid choice that can deliver clothes that can fit the established frame work of Kenzo as a middle-priced brand - His own brand would already make for a decent proposal for Kenzo.

 

[jeanclaude]

LVMH treats they small brands as "bastard children": they officially recognized them as their own; but they don´t care for them at all.

Kenzo has potential with the right designer. Mixing classic Japanese culture with modern urban Harajuku could be a start for them. Japan gives plenty of inspiration to take from.

 

[Kanzai]

I couldn’t care less about Kenzo – if they want to stick with NIGO, then so be it. It's been ages since Antonio Marras left, and nowadays most people know Kenzo for nothing more than tiger logos and merch. It’s clearly never going back to being creativity-free as those independent Japanese labels, LOL. In an alternative world, Naoki Takizawa could be a workable choice since Kenzo’s aesthetic was never as abstract or conceptual as Issey Miyake’s to begin with.

 

[tricotineacetat]

LVMH treats they small brands as "bastard children": they officially recognized them as their own; but they don´t care for them at all.

Kenzo has potential with the right designer. Mixing classic Japanese culture with modern urban Harajuku could be a start for them. Japan gives plenty of inspiration to take from.

Sorry for taking the discussion off-topic even further but since we’ve taken the discussion to the topic of Kenzo, I thought I might share a few extra thoughts.

I had the good fortune to meet Mr. Takada himself during the years post-Kenzo when he had started a new RTW brand TAKADA - A collection that clearly displayed the assured hand of a designer with decades of experience under his belt in terms of cut and mastery of color. It reminded me a good amount of Yves Saint Laurent in many ways. Mr. Takada was a very, VERY sympathetic gentleman, with a fantastic taste (his Paris townhouse build in the traditional Japanese style as well as his impeccable uniform of Dior Homme suits made that quite clear) and upon seeing me play around in his showroom, styling liscensed scarves with his RTW in an unexpected way lead to his encouragement to move further into design. His untimely death caused by a covid infection was tragic as I remember him always well-spirited and joyful - much like Alber Elbaz, who died of the same cause.

What I’m trying to say is that you are very correct that a house like Kenzo could be far more center-stage for LVMH than it is today (I still very much remember the times when Celine and Loewe were both very much considered bastard children among their roster of brands) and that it’s success does not need to be build on contemporary casual wear but could (and should!) very well be more aligned with what we associate today with Dries van Noten - Something a bit more chic but with nonchalance, rich in color, a bit of tasteful eclecticism and with a few nods to Japanese traditional handicrafts and costume. Kenzo to me has a poetic quality that’s gone lost over the years and LVMH’s strategy with the house has felt so far more like something short-term that did not consider the value of the brand name in the long run. Humberto and Carol’s middle-market logo sweatshirts were a good success but also didn’t leave the house with something to further build on, the market was oversaturated with the products people connected with Kenzo.

While Nigo’s collections aren’t bad as such, they also didn’t appear joyful and potent enough to signal a change of direction that felt compelling for Kenzo - Worst of all, his background in casual wear also displays a limitation of repertoire he can bring to the brand, which is why the finesse I connect with Mr. Takada will remain all but lost until a more skilled designer (in womenswear) can take over.

 

[Lola701]

I mean, that was what Kenzo looked like wayyy back with Gilles Rosier and also Antonio Marras - I wouldn’t mind if they returned to that kind of esprit, perhaps with Sander Lak or Christian Wijnants at the helm? Either one would make for a good fit.

The Antonio Marras years were great. I remember I attended a show where there was a stunning finale with flowers. I don’t think Kenzo has had that kind of budget since.

I just think Kenzo cannot exist in the luxury lane anymore.

I wouldn’t overestimate the value of a designer’s likeliness for a creative director position if they rose through the ranks of storied luxury goods maisons owned by the big conglomerates - The hirings of this year don’t comfirm that trend, also keeping in mind that Carol Lim and Humberto Leon were themselves unexpected choices for Kenzo.

I don’t have the impression that LVMH would want to invest in a very high-profile designer for Kenzo after Nigo and for that, Wijnants could make for a solid choice that can deliver clothes that can fit the established frame work of Kenzo as a middle-priced brand - His own brand would already make for a decent proposal for Kenzo.

tbh, I think Nigo should go to work with Pharrell. They should give him and advisory/ambassador role at Louis Vuitton with the same pay he got from Kenzo.

I don’t know how Kenzo is perceived in Japan but it would have been great to have a Japanese at the helm or even an Asian designer that may connect it with a certain idea of « culture »(considering how much the press love that word).

I couldn’t care less about Kenzo – if they want to stick with NIGO, then so be it. It's been ages since Antonio Marras left, and nowadays most people know Kenzo for nothing more than tiger logos and merch. It’s clearly never going back to being creativity-free as those independent Japanese labels, LOL. In an alternative world, Naoki Takizawa could be a workable choice since Kenzo’s aesthetic was never as abstract or conceptual as Issey Miyake’s to begin with.

If you look at the stuff Nigo pours, particularly his runway show in that apartment, clearly, he is using that total creative freedom a little bit too much. And he can rest in a bit of the fragrances money they are sitting on.


The only thing that saves Kenzo now is their fragrances business. Flower is still an iconic fragrance. LVMH didn’t owned the Marc Jacobs beauty so that’s probably why they are selling it first.

It’s also maybe a pity that it’s not a name that attract a designer. I find the fashion intention of Kenzo more relevant today that this obsession over Mugler, as spectacular as it looks.

 

[tricotineacetat]

The Antonio Marras years were great. I remember I attended a show where there was a stunning finale with flowers. I don’t think Kenzo has had that kind of budget since.

I just think Kenzo cannot exist in the luxury lane anymore.

tbh, I think Nigo should go to work with Pharrell. They should give him and advisory/ambassador role at Louis Vuitton with the same pay he got from Kenzo.

I don’t know how Kenzo is perceived in Japan but it would have been great to have a Japanese at the helm or even an Asian designer that may connect it with a certain idea of « culture »(considering how much the press love that word).


If you look at the stuff Nigo pours, particularly his runway show in that apartment, clearly, he is using that total creative freedom a little bit too much. And he can rest in a bit of the fragrances money they are sitting on.


The only thing that saves Kenzo now is their fragrances business. Flower is still an iconic fragrance. LVMH didn’t owned the Marc Jacobs beauty so that’s probably why they are selling it first.

It’s also maybe a pity that it’s not a name that attract a designer. I find the fashion intention of Kenzo more relevant today that this obsession over Mugler, as spectacular as it looks.

Strictly speaking by the price and product offering, Dries van Noten does not fit into the framework of a typical 'luxury brand' and perhaps we are too much accustomed to categorize by the market tiers of 'luxury' and 'contemporary', which has always been a very department store antic, coming from the US. I look a bit with concern on the slow but steady increase of prices under Puig but the majority of what stores usually carry from Dries (at least in European multibrand stores) aligns with Lemaire - Which is the kind of range people in certain jobs can afford, who typically tend to be the customers of both these designers.

There is no reason Kenzo should not be in that tier, but it would take a longer-term commitment to really build the brand, not on the foundation of sweatshirts or a handbag but a relevant and artistically strong identity at a decently accessible price point.

 

[oioioi]

tbh, I think Nigo should go to work with Pharrell. They should give him and advisory/ambassador role at Louis Vuitton with the same pay he got from Kenzo.

Good idea and agree!
Could be a best of both worlds, since they've collaborated for a long time ago. Pharrell did an interview not long ago summarising how he was asked by LVMH who they think should be the new Vuittons Men's CD post-Virgil's passing and he suggested Nigo would be perfect and they came back preferring to offer to Pharrell himself (of course we understand why on a broader branding cache reason for how Virgil shaped it).
Maybe Nigo could be more in charge of Pre-collections and fun capsule drops.

 

[jeanclaude]

Sorry for taking the discussion off-topic even further but since we’ve taken the discussion to the topic of Kenzo, I thought I might share a few extra thoughts.

I had the good fortune to meet Mr. Takada himself during the years post-Kenzo when he had started a new RTW brand TAKADA - A collection that clearly displayed the assured hand of a designer with decades of experience under his belt in terms of cut and mastery of color. It reminded me a good amount of Yves Saint Laurent in many ways. Mr. Takada was a very, VERY sympathetic gentleman, with a fantastic taste (his Paris townhouse build in the traditional Japanese style as well as his impeccable uniform of Dior Homme suits made that quite clear) and upon seeing me play around in his showroom, styling liscensed scarves with his RTW in an unexpected way lead to his encouragement to move further into design. His untimely death caused by a covid infection was tragic as I remember him always well-spirited and joyful - much like Alber Elbaz, who died of the same cause.

What I’m trying to say is that you are very correct that a house like Kenzo could be far more center-stage for LVMH than it is today (I still very much remember the times when Celine and Loewe were both very much considered bastard children among their roster of brands) and that it’s success does not need to be build on contemporary casual wear but could (and should!) very well be more aligned with what we associate today with Dries van Noten - Something a bit more chic but with nonchalance, rich in color, a bit of tasteful eclecticism and with a few nods to Japanese traditional handicrafts and costume. Kenzo to me has a poetic quality that’s gone lost over the years and LVMH’s strategy with the house has felt so far more like something short-term that did not consider the value of the brand name in the long run. Humberto and Carol’s middle-market logo sweatshirts were a good success but also didn’t leave the house with something to further build on, the market was oversaturated with the products people connected with Kenzo.

While Nigo’s collections aren’t bad as such, they also didn’t appear joyful and potent enough to signal a change of direction that felt compelling for Kenzo - Worst of all, his background in casual wear also displays a limitation of repertoire he can bring to the brand, which is why the finesse I connect with Mr. Takada will remain all but lost until a more skilled designer (in womenswear) can take over.

I agree with you 100%...but as long as the fashion industry keeps going in the fast-fashion/merchandise way it is today, poor Kenzo will be still treated like a cup of instant noodles; when in reality it should be treated like an exquisite sushi restaurant.

 

[tricotineacetat]

I agree with you 100%...but as long as the fashion industry keeps going in the fast-fashion/merchandise way it is today, poor Kenzo will be still treated like a cup of instant noodles; when in reality it should be treated like an exquisite sushi restaurant.

Besides my personal inclinations to agree with you tastewise, I think the false conclusion would be to think there are only but these two, polarizing options to develop a brand - Either in a blatant cash grab kind of way that tarnishes the image of a brand or on the other hand to go a very high fashion route, with the idea that a strong halo effect is necessary before you can even think of selling (an often diluted) commercial product.

There‘s nothing inherently wrong with a brand headed in a straight-forward commercial direction and in many ways, I find it also refreshing when designers put out a vision where the collections presented on the runway can translate almost without adjustment into what the shops (and customers) will be carrying afterwards.

Besides all the eclecticism Kenzo was known for, I always thought Mr. Takada‘s intention was to design clothes with ease - After all, he belonged to the wave of designers alongside Sonia Rykiel who embodied the mentality of 'nouveau pret a porter francaise' after Karl and Yves - Less conceptual than his Japanese colleagues Rei, Yohji and Issey.

I could think of several great designers presently falling below the radar besides the ones I mentioned, all of which would probably demand a lower salary than Nigo and not with lesser chances to turn this brand successfully around - The success of Rabanne, Courrèges and Carven in the 2010s proves that it doesn’t always need a well-known designer but more so a compelling vision supported by a good, accessible product. Kenzo and LVMH can offer all that but it needs the right people both in design and management of the brand (to work in unison) to make that happen.

 

[jeanclaude]

Besides my personal inclinations to agree with you tastewise, I think the false conclusion would be to think there are only but these two, polarizing options to develop a brand - Either in a blatant cash grab kind of way that tarnishes the image of a brand or on the other hand to go a very high fashion route, with the idea that a strong halo effect is necessary before you can even think of selling (an often diluted) commercial product.

There‘s nothing inherently wrong with a brand headed in a straight-forward commercial direction and in many ways, I find it also refreshing when designers put out a vision where the collections presented on the runway can translate almost without adjustment into what the shops (and customers) will be carrying afterwards.

Besides all the eclecticism Kenzo was known for, I always thought Mr. Takada‘s intention was to design clothes with ease - After all, he belonged to the wave of designers alongside Sonia Rykiel who embodied the mentality of 'nouveau pret a porter francaise' after Karl and Yves - Less conceptual than his Japanese colleagues Rei, Yohji and Issey.

I could think of several great designers presently falling below the radar besides the ones I mentioned, all of which would probably demand a lower salary than Nigo and not with lesser chances to turn this brand successfully around - The success of Rabanne, Courrèges and Carven in the 2010s proves that it doesn’t always need a well-known designer but more so a compelling vision supported by a good, accessible product. Kenzo and LVMH can offer all that but it needs the right people both in design and management of the brand (to work in unison) to make that happen.

I think the main problem with Kenzo is that now it looks like a discarded diffusion line. The brand needs elevation (but not in a high-end luxury way). A price point like Yohji Yamamoto could work...but of course that would mean creating interesting (although not avant-gardish) wearable clothes.

There is a total disconnection between the fragrances and the clothes. When the fragrances look more elevated than the clothes, there is a problem...

 

[tricotineacetat]

I think the main problem with Kenzo is that now it looks like a discarded diffusion line. The brand needs elevation (but not in a high-end luxury way). A price point like Yohji Yamamoto could work...but of course that would mean creating interesting (although not avant-gardish) wearable clothes.

There is a total disconnection between the fragrances and the clothes. When the fragrances look more elevated than the clothes, there is a problem...

The thing is, unless bought in Japan, Yohji Yamamoto tends to sit on the upper end of ready to wear prices - Perhaps not in the level of Chanel, but quite often more expensive than other mainline designer collections by Western/European designers - Sometimes amplified by unfavorable exchange rates between Yen and Euros/Dollars. This has broken their business a few times, in fact.

 

[Kanzai]

I think the main problem with Kenzo is that now it looks like a discarded diffusion line. The brand needs elevation (but not in a high-end luxury way). A price point like Yohji Yamamoto could work...but of course that would mean creating interesting (although not avant-gardish) wearable clothes.

There is a total disconnection between the fragrances and the clothes. When the fragrances look more elevated than the clothes, there is a problem...

Hmm, as Tricot said above – Yohji is notoriously expensive, probably the most expensive Japanese label (we're talking about his mainline btw). I don’t even think people would be willing to pay Dries-level prices for a brand like Kenzo, no matter how hyped the designer is.

 

[Lola701]

The only way to save Kenzo is to lead with a creative vision. The price point is not even an issue. At the peak of the success of the OC people, the tiger sweater was below 200€. Today you buy a cap for that price at Kenzo. I don’t even think the customer they have left is that customer.

So in a way, they have to rebuild a customer base. And the people that will go for it, will go for the fashion proposition.

Exactly like what happened with Courreges. What Di Felice did is almost a miracle.

For me, after they got rid of the Coperni guys, I though Courreges was done. And we are talking about a name that hasn’t been hot in decades!
Even their fragrance line is super desirable now.

I see more people wearing Courreges now, because the fashion crowd embraced it.

But you need a talent in design. It’s mandatory… Because Kenzo’s body of work is so vast that you can’t just do « flowers » endlessly.

 

[tricotineacetat]

The only way to save Kenzo is to lead with a creative vision. The price point is not even an issue. At the peak of the success of the OC people, the tiger sweater was below 200€. Today you buy a cap for that price at Kenzo. I don’t even think the customer they have left is that customer.

So in a way, they have to rebuild a customer base. And the people that will go for it, will go for the fashion proposition.

Exactly like what happened with Courreges. What Di Felice did is almost a miracle.

For me, after they got rid of the Coperni guys, I though Courreges was done. And we are talking about a name that hasn’t been hot in decades!
Even their fragrance line is super desirable now.

I see more people wearing Courreges now, because the fashion crowd embraced it.

But you need a talent in design. It’s mandatory… Because Kenzo’s body of work is so vast that you can’t just do « flowers » endlessly.

I don’t know in what part of the world in which kind of business you are working, but I find it rather confusing whenever we address (or rather don’t address enough) the factor of too high prices in the designer/luxury segment of fashion - As somebody living in Germany (certainly not one of the lowest-income countries in the world), I can only attest that salaries have in many many jobs not risen enough to compensate for inflation-related raises for the cost of living, especially in the bigger cities.

You mentioned that Humberto Leon and Carol Lim’s embroidered sweatshirts cost approximately 200€ back then and that you get a cap for that price today, admitting that this kind of customer does not exist as such today - Well, I would say that is because the person that could afford yesterday’s Kenzo could barely buy more than entry-priced products from them today.

It’s the same when we look at maybe a more prominent example, Helmut Lang; I still have the line sheets from my buying days from SS'04 - at that time, a pair of metal-tipped pumps from the runway cost 260€, that was something a woman who works as a museum curator, in advertising or otherwise could still afford - In 2025, the woman who buys Phoebe Philo would probably need to be the owner of said gallery, one of the internationally well-known ones at that.

So yes, coming back to the original issue, I think it has A LOT to do with certain brands pushing too much the selling point of exclusivity to the point there is no existing customer to whom these clothes still relate.

It’s pretty much the same for a basic white cotton shirt from Jil Sander at 1000€…

 

[Lola701]

I don’t know in what part of the world in which kind of business you are working, but I find it rather confusing whenever we address (or rather don’t address enough) the factor of too high prices in the designer/luxury segment of fashion - As somebody living in Germany (certainly not one of the lowest-income countries in the world), I can only attest that salaries have in many many jobs not risen enough to compensate for inflation-related raises for the cost of living, especially in the bigger cities.

You mentioned that Humberto Leon and Carol Lim’s embroidered sweatshirts cost approximately 200€ back then and that you get a cap for that price today, admitting that this kind of customer does not exist as such today - Well, I would say that is because the person that could afford yesterday’s Kenzo could barely buy more than entry-priced products from them today.

It’s the same when we look at maybe a more prominent example, Helmut Lang; I still have the line sheets from my buying days from SS'04 - at that time, a pair of metal-tipped pumps from the runway cost 260€, that was something a woman who works as a museum curator, in advertising or otherwise could still afford - In 2025, the woman who buys Phoebe Philo would probably need to be the owner of said gallery, one of the internationally well-known ones at that.

So yes, coming back to the original issue, I think it has A LOT to do with certain brands pushing too much the selling point of exclusivity to the point there is no existing customer to whom these clothes still relate.

It’s pretty much the same for a basic white cotton shirt from Jil Sander at 1000€…

I go from the assumption that the customer mostly targeted by Humberto and Carol’s Kenzo, which was very young, who thanks to that aura of Kenzo bought those pieces as the entry way to designers’s clothes (and not necessarily luxury), the same way they bought Givenchy tshirts and designers sneakers, doesn’t necessarily exist today or not in the same form.

There was also an assumption by LVMH people that Nigo’s aura in streetwear could have helped Kenzo secure that spot in that universe and generate sales.

For what it seems, nothing is working.

I forgot to add it in my previous comment you reacted to but my thinking about the prices is more about ditching the sweatshirts as bread and butter all together.

I think that at that price point, Kenzo should offer more than sweatshirts.
Because I don’t find their price point excessive for a brand like that. You always have options elsewhere for cheaper propositions. But even at that price point, the products are not interesting enough to be competitive, LVMH or not.

When you look at the offer at Kenzo with their price point, may as well go to Sandro, all the SMCP brands. And that’s what a lot of people do anyway.

 

[jeanclaude]

The thing is, unless bought in Japan, Yohji Yamamoto tends to sit on the upper end of ready to wear prices - Perhaps not in the level of Chanel, but quite often more expensive than other mainline designer collections by Western/European designers - Sometimes amplified by unfavorable exchange rates between Yen and Euros/Dollars. This has broken their business a few times, in fact.

Hmm, as Tricot said above – Yohji is notoriously expensive, probably the most expensive Japanese label (we're talking about his mainline btw). I don’t even think people would be willing to pay Dries-level prices for a brand like Kenzo, no matter how hyped the designer is.

Ok, then they would have to find a middle-ground point between Yamamoto prices and current Kenzo ones (of course after the "elevation" process had begun...something that sadly does not seem LVMH is interested in).

 

[rowjellies]

 

[THD96]

There are rumors that Marc is also leaving his brand after the deal is finalized. That’s kinda sad for me.

Who could replace him and where will he go tho?

 

[FashionPower]

For a brand whose turnover solely relies on "The Tote" bags, I don't think Marc is needed to provide any kind of added value honestly...