KENZO

The tiger sweatshirt is the piece that defines modern KENZO, made in soft cotton and prized as much for the embroidered motif as the fabric. It sits at accessible-luxury pricing, so you are buying an icon and a logo as much as raw materials. If you love the aesthetic, it is a confident, recognisable entry into the house.

In 2012, creative directors Humberto Leon and Carol Lim showed a knitted tiger-graphic sweater for KENZO's Fall 2012 collection, and Leon pushed for a sweatshirt version despite resistance from the design team. The tiger sweatshirts became a phenomenon, with the initial run selling out within hours at the Paris store. It has been the brand's calling card ever since.

The tiger sweatshirt is the obvious starting point, the single piece most associated with the house since 2012 and an instantly readable icon. From there, KENZO's floral prints and ready-to-wear open up the wider world Kenzo Takada built. Begin with the tiger, then explore the prints once you know the house suits you.

KENZO is a French luxury fashion house founded in 1970 by the Japanese designer Kenzo Takada, who had moved to Paris in 1964 to start his career. He became known for blending Asian-influenced style with European construction, beginning with handmade women's clothing. His first collection was reportedly made with just $200 of fabric bought at a discount house in Montmartre.

Kenzo Takada's first boutique, in the Galerie Vivienne, was called Jungle Jap and decorated with a jungle-inspired interior. The name changed to Kenzo after a 1976 fashion show in New York, because the American market considered Jungle Jap too pejorative. The jungle spirit, though, lived on in the brand's exuberant prints.

KENZO is owned by the French luxury group LVMH, which acquired it in 1993 from SEBP and Financière Truffaut for about $80 million. Kenzo Takada stayed on for a few years before retiring from fashion in 1999. The house has been an LVMH brand ever since.

In September 2021 KENZO appointed Nigo, the designer formerly behind A Bathing Ape, as its artistic director. His arrival brought a streetwear sensibility to a house with deep roots in print and color. It marked another reinvention for a brand that has refreshed itself several times across its history.

KENZO's signature is exuberant color and print, born from Kenzo Takada's mix of Asian-influenced style and European tailoring. The house expanded over the years into menswear in 1983, kids and home in 1987, and fragrances in 1988, all carrying that joyful, pattern-rich spirit. That playful maximalism still distinguishes it from more restrained Parisian houses.

Since 2011, the tiger shirt and clothing designed by Humberto Leon and Carol Lim has been worn by a long list of names including Jay-Z, Beyoncé, Rihanna, Selena Gomez, Kevin Hart and Lorde. That wave of celebrity adoption is a big part of why the motif crossed over from fashion circles to the mainstream. It cemented the tiger as a true pop-culture icon.

Yes. In 2016 KENZO collaborated with H&M, releasing the Kenzo x H&M collection that November and bringing the house to a far wider audience. The brand has also created campaigns with filmmakers like David Lynch, who mixed the soundtrack for the Fall 2014 show. These crossovers reflect a house comfortable mixing high fashion with pop culture.

Protect the embroidered tiger by washing the sweatshirt inside out on a cool, gentle cycle and laying it flat to dry rather than tumble-drying, which can stress the stitching and shrink cotton. Avoid ironing directly over the embroidery. Treated gently, that signature motif stays crisp wear after wear.