The Portuguese-born and Paris-based designer and former creative director of Lacoste is as of today at the helm of Kenzo.
“This is the end of a page, not the end of the book”. These words date back to February 2014 when Felipe Oliveira Baptista decided to put his eponymous brand on hold in order to focus on other projects and after 10 years presenting his designs and assisted by the fashion platform Portugal Fashion. And what a book, may we add. Shortly after there he was working for Lacoste as creative designer, a position he retained until the spring of 2018. As of today Felipe is at the creative Helm of the Japanese brand Kenzo part also of the LVMH empire whose speakers stated that one of the reasons behind this invitation lie in his relationship with different cultures. But considering the good results achieved at Lacoste during his tenure and the underperformance of Kenzo at LVMH when compared to other giants in this group, money may have played also a decisive role. Felipe origins were there in some of his designs when he appropriated some elements of his place of birth, the Azores, but looking at his body of work it breathes rather some restraint and contained elegance which is also synonym for Kenzo for many who prefer precisely that containment than the overt flowery patterns or the unbearable tiger. Looking back at his work with his eponymous brand and the brands that inspired him of for which he worked for Felipe may thus become the right man to revive Kenzo.
Carlos Tomé Sousa
