KENZO EXHIBITS SELF PORTRAITS IN PARIS

DESIGNER KENZO TAKADA, WHO FOUNDED KENZO THE LUXURY FASHION LABEL, HAS TRIED HIS HAND AT PAINTING, WITH A PARIS EXHIBITION OF EIGHT MESMERIZING SELF PORTRAITS. THE LARGE SCALE PAINTINGS SHOWN AT THE STUDIO 55 GALLERY IN PARIS FEATURES THE JAPANESE-BORN DESIGNER IN A SERIES OF FLOWER-PRINTED KIMONOS THAT RECALL THE KINDS OF PRINTS HIS LABEL IS KNOWN FOR. 'ART AND FASHION ARE REALLY NOR THAT DIFFERENT', TAKADA TOLD THE ASSOCIATED PRESS IN A RECENT INTERVIEW. KENZO, WHO WAS BORN IN 1939, LEAPT TO FAME IN THE 1980s WITH A HIGH-END READY-TO WEAR COLLECTION THAT GAVE WESTERN GARMENTS AN EASTERN TOUCH. HE SAYS HE STARTED PAINTING TEN YEARS AGO, AFTER HE SOLD HIS LABEL TO FRENCH LUXURY GOODS GIANT LVMH AND SUBSEQUENTLY RETIRED. THE EXHIBIT RUNS THROUGH 10.JULY.