NIGO Enlists Futura for KENZO FW25 Collection
NIGO dives into his personal experiences and relationship with Futura, Japan, Paris and beyond to inform the key motifs of this collection.
Hot off his co-designed collection with Pharrell for Louis Vuitton, NIGO reveals his own collaboration for KENZO this Fall/Winter 2025 season. Bromances are running high at Paris Fashion Week, as NIGO joins forces with longtime friend, Futura, whom he has known since the ’90s. The New York graffiti legend lends his signature calligraphy style to KENZO’s heritage motifs, bringing a dose of the New York streets to the luxury house.
Pre-show, NIGO told the press, “I met Futura for the first time in 1996, in Tokyo. I was a big fan. The first time I met him, he wore one of my designs. It was a windbreaker I had made with detachable half-sleeves. And we started communication back then. So I often went to see him in New York and he also came to see me in Japan.” Futura joined the audience tonight, sporting one of the pieces he collaborated on with NIGO for KENZO. Redesigning the KENZO flower with his signature calligraphy, Futura also incorporates his popular atom logo, seen on jackets, bombers and wide leg pants. The spray effect from the graffiti styling sees the various iterations of the modern KENZO flower take effect on the kimono collar. Futura restyles KENZO’s branding in his own font that appears on accessories like shopping bags, bouquet wraps, beer bottle holders and baguette bags. NIGO brings these particular elements to light because he remembered seeing people carry these assortments throughout New York in the ’90s. He also recalls Futura using the world “fragile” in Japanese on a shirt he designed in 1990, which he has now incorporated into the featured tags of these pieces.
There’s a strong cultural connection between the two places that is informed by NIGO and Futura’s own relationship for this collection. Designed to be a commuter collection where the men’s collection takes shape on a futuristic high-speed journey from East to West, Tokyo to Paris. Knitwear decorations are inspired by Japan’s vintage pachinko parlor machines. NIGO collaborated with KENZO itself using graphics of the views of Mount Fuji and Paris that was inspired by the Fall 1998 Orient Express. The Kenzo Weave pattern continues to be a staple in the collection, informing denim patterns and jacquard ones. Splitting time between Japan and Paris, the collection sees NIGO pull from his personal experiences all while celebrating a lifelong creative partnership and friendship with Futura, giving KENZO a refreshed look for the new season.
