Leave it to Kenzo designers and Opening Ceremony founders Humberto Leon and Carol Lim to host a full-on Fourth of July BBQ a Paris. On Thursday, the pair invited guests such as André Saraiva, Rose McGowan, Sarah Andelman, Ellen von Unwerth, and Léa Seydoux to the Jardin d’Acclimatation, where they got their fix of hamburgers, hot dogs, fries, and nineties jams. The occasion (other than an Independence Day celebration for the visiting Américains) was the unveiling of Kenzo’s Fall ’13 campaign. This season, the designers teamed up with Toilet Paper magazine founders (and the evening’s cohosts) Maurizio Cattelan, Pierpaolo Ferrari, and Micol Talso, to create their imagery. The surreal ads (below) star Leon and Lim pals Rinko Kikuchi and Sean O’Pry, who pose among a cast of giant insects, gangs of mice, bananas, kittens hiding in boots, the Fall collection’s eye motif, and Cattelan’s favorite—the tiger dog.
Cattelan—an OC devotee—reported that he was pleasantly surprised when Leon and Lim called to collaborate, and described the shoot as a “creative laboratory.” In addition to appearing in Fall glossies, the ads will be featured in Kenzine—a limited-edition Toilet Paper-esque magazine—as well as on a capsule collection of sweatshirts and T-shirts, which will hit stores this September.
Self-confessed culture junkies, Leon and Lim sought to create unexpected, timeless photographs that fell outside of the norm. “I think these are everlasting images that stand for the time we are living in today,” said Leon.
Since joining Kenzo in 2011, Leon and Lim have won over the fashion crowd with their raucous parties, fresh anthem of energy, and playful approach to, well, everything. Lim hopes that spirit comes across in the latest campaign. “We really wanted to capture a mood of a community. When you look at the images, you feel there’s a sense of humor, and you want to be part of the world.”
