Providing us with some mid-week eye candy is Studio Toogood, who, last week, transformed Kenzo’s Parisian headquarters into a vibrant fashion show for the launch of Kenzo’s first womenswear collection under the newly appointed art directors, Humberto Leon and Carol Lim, at Paris Fashion Week 2011. Jean Lin always teases me for having a bit of a thing for Faye Toogood and her Studio, and it is true that this is the second Toogood appearance on the blog in under a month (click here to see the first), but with set design and styling this good, how can I resist? Scroll down to see how Studio Toogood breathed new life into the iconic brand’s traditional Paris headquarters by designing a show full of shape, colour and energy…

Fashionistas were invited into the courtyard of the offices on Rue Vivienne, where the Studio had designed giant brightly coloured polished-plaster letters under a balloon of light. Greeted by models waving and shouting hello from the surrounding windows, guests were served pastel-coloured biscuits, designed by Arabeschi di Latte that spelt out K, E, N, Z, O. I imagine, that when a fashionista pictures themselves arriving at the gates of heaven, it would look something like this.

Once the fashion show got underway, the models emerged through a window cut out of a vivid yellow geometric shape, then followed a simple white pathway that ran through an open courtyard and into the main space. The runway was filled with more aluminium forms sprayed in bright colours, with which the models were encouraged to interact. With Jason Schwartzman on drums and other musicians playing along during the presentation, the air was filled with a remix of Cyndi Lauper’s “Girls Just Want to Have Fun” on loudspeaker.

It always helps to have celebrity mates, so Kenzo Creative Directors, Humberto and Carol, called upon the services of their friend Chloe Sevigny to close the show in a striking blue jumpsuit - see below. Amazing.

Photography is by Adrian Gaut.

 

 

 

 

 

Studio Toogood’s maquettes of the stage set…

 

…and the real thing.

 

Loving the use of this Lin-Morris green. Very on trend.

- A.Morris