Kenzo, the fashion designer who woke up galerie Vivienne

Few years after Kenzo Takada settled in Paris from his native Japan, en 1964, he opened his first shop called Jungle Jap inside the galerie Vivienne and did his inaugural fashion show there. His creations were a mixed of Japanese traditional clothing (kimono) and western style, guided by a strong influence of buddhism philosophy, the unique mixture that will characterize the worldwild famous Kenzo brand.

One of the first Kenzo product release under the brand Jungle Jap

By choosing this old fashioned, and forgotten place, Kenzo, impressed by the sophistication of the galerie, woke up a former luxurious place and with no contest the nicest of all parisian galeries. Beside, by settle there, he moved parisian fashion from the western part of Paris to its center. Years later, the headquarters of the brand settled rue Vivienne, few blocks from there. Following Kenzo, other youngs entrepreneurs revitalised the galerie by opening new places. Among them, the floral designer Emilio Robbia, and the tea room A priori thé, quite revolutionnary in the 80th when cafe culture was predominant in Paris. Those are still enchanting the pedestrians who enter Vivienne.