First Look: The Kenzo x H&M Collection

The Kenzo x H&M Collection drops in stores November 3, so there’s still quite some time to go before we get to feast our eyes on the full range; but if these first three looks are anything to go by, it seems we can expect a riot of colour and prints that definitely require a big step out of your monochrome comfort zone.
The people featured in these lookbook images aren’t professional models or celebrities, but rather, part of a bevy of young creatives and activists that have been handpicked to represent the celebration of individuality that Kenzo Takada has always put across in his runway collections.

Look book KENZO x H&M (1)
Amy Sall, founder of SUNU: Journal of African Affairs, Critical Thought + Aesthetics and Juliana Huxtable, artist, poet and DJ, both wearing tiger print jersey rollneck tops, matching high waisted leggings, long black leather gloves with pink logo rubber print and jacquard knitted tiger-sock shaft boots.
 
Look book KENZO x H&M (2)
Oko Ebombo, musician and performance artist, wearing parka with removable collar, block colour tiger print jeans, padded flip flops with tabi socks, tiger-printed cap with attached scarf, printed woven scarf and tiger-printed cross-body bag.
 
Look book KENZO x H&M (3)
Isamaya Ffrench, makeup artist, wearing oversized leather jacket with pink faux shearling lining, matching tiger print rollneck top and high-waisted leggings.

Of course, tiger prints feature heavily – in these first looks, anyway – and you might immediately see them as a reference to the iconic tiger motifs that the brand’s creative directors Humberto Leon and Carol Lim have put on sweaters and tees, but they’re in actuality a shoutout to archival prints. If anything, this collection calls for animal prints (in acid-bright shades, no less) to be celebrated again – you have about three more months to prepare your hearts and wardrobes.
 
The H&M x Kenzo collection will be available from 3 November 2016. hm.com