Kenzó Takada, the founder of the Kenzo trademark, died at the age of 81 after a coronavirus infection. His spokesman informed about it, writes the AFP agency.
The designer died Sunday on complications associated with COVID-19, which is caused by a new coronavirus. He was hospitalized in a private American hospital in Paris.
Kenzó Takada was the founder of the French fashion house Kenzo. His designs are known mainly for their colorful floral pattern or the significant use of cartoon tiger heads.
The designer first came to France in 1965 on a cruise from his native Japan. He was the first to visit Marseille, and later settled in Paris, where he became the first Japanese designer to establish himself on the French fashion scene.
He left the fashion industry in 1999, six years after selling the Kenzo brand to the French clothing group LVMH. Even then, however, he worked on one-off fashion projects, such as the design collection presented earlier this year.
He created his first collection for women in 1970, and premiered the men's clothing collection in 1983. Over the years, the Kenzo brand included not only clothing, but also perfumes and cosmetics.