Few Paris addresses conjure myth quite like Maxim’s, the gilded Belle Époque haunt where artists and aristocrats once jostled for a seat at dinner, and a place immortalized in Cole Porter’s lyrics and classic Hollywood films as the very symbol of Parisian chic. On Friday night, at Paris Fashion Week the renowned restaurant-turned-nightclub became the improbable stage for Kenzo’s latest co-ed show — a riot of pop color, celebrity and cultural collision served tableside.
Guests perched around white tablecloths as Nigo, the first Japanese designer to helm Kenzo since the late, great Kenzo Takada, set out to prove the house can still surprise. What unfolded was a knowingly playful mash-up of preppy classics and off-kilter eveningwear: eye-popping pink dresses loosely gathered and knotted, each one tossed with a Left Bank silk scarf; a slinky tuxedo jacket paired with a blaring urban-printed tee in wild color, topped with a cartoon bunny in intentional clash. Think cocktail hour by way of Shibuya street style.
