Review of Kenzo Fall 2023 Ad Campaign by Creative Director Nigo with Photographer Keizo Kitajima and Film Director Frank Lebon with models Vernon, Abas Abdirazaq, Kiki Willems, Assa Baradji, Sen Ping, Fumiya, Hayato Oohashi, Jake Morton, Kayu, Kou U, Masato Oie, Mikiya Nakano, Nina Utashiro, Raiki Yamamoto, Ringo Mikata, Shunsuke Kawamoto, Taito, Hara Yoshihide, Hiroki Shirota, Erika Abe
Kenzo dives deep into the youth cultures of Japanese cities – and the international creative communities that both inspire and are inspired by them – with its Fall 2023 campaign. The vibrant and musical campaign features photography by Keizo Kitajima and film direction by Frank Lebon.
Nigo’s Fall 2023 collection for Kenzo synthesized his love of 60s British style with the reverence for Japanese workwear that has been the driving force behind his design work at the label. The campaign continues to develop on this cross-cultural dialogue. Captured in both Kyoto and Osaka, the imagery stars an east-meets-west cast – including new brand ambassador Vernon of K-Pop group Seventeen – who embody the vivid street culture and youthful underground music scenes of these cities. Alternately framed by historic architecture and hectically contemporary urbanism, Kitajima’s portraits of these subjects exude a palimpsestic cool.
This multifaceted energy explodes further into life in Lebon’s dazzling short film. Utilizing dynamic and clever cinematography and meticulous editing, the film creates the feeling of a breakneck sprint through Kyoto and Osaka’s vibrant cultural scenes. Set to buoyant and off-kilter 80s Japanese synth-pop, the camera rushes us from ramen shops and gaming halls to bamboo forests, skyscrapers, and underground dance clubs – all while making time for a cameo appearance from Nigo himself, who, in one of the film’s brief stretches of quiet, plays a game of shogi in the Shosei-en garden in Kyoto.
Kenzo’s campaigns under Nigo’s creative direction have felt solid up until now, but this one is by far the best one yet. Translating the artful energy of the creative director’s eclectic inspirations into a dazzlingly vibrant portrait of a borderless generation of dreamers and doers, the campaign is a vivid expression of Kenzo’s take on youth style.
Kenzo Creative Director | Nigo
Photographer | Keizo Kitajima
Videographer | Frank Lebon
Models | Vernon, Abas Abdirazaq, Kiki Willems, Assa Baradji, Sen Ping, Fumiya, Hayato Oohashi, Jake Morton, Kayu, Kou U, Masato Oie, Mikiya Nakano, Nina Utashiro, Raiki Yamamoto, Ringo Mikata, Shunsuke Kawamoto, Taito, Hara Yoshihide, Hiroki Shirota, Erika Abe
Stylist | Marq Rise
Hair | Kiyoko Odo
Makeup | Nami Yoshida
Casting Director | Samuel Ellis Scheinman
Music | “Dreamer” by Urban Dance
Location | Kyoto and Osaka, Japan