Paris Fashion Week is set for a shake-up next season as Kenzo announces a strategic shift in its show format. Departing from the now-common co-ed runway, the house will present its fall 2025 menswear collection in January, followed by a dedicated womenswear show during the official women’s week in March.
This move, revealed exclusively to WWD, signals a renewed emphasis on the brand’s womenswear. After three years under the creative direction of Nigo, Kenzo has established a strong menswear identity. Now, the focus turns to forging a bold new direction for its female clientele.
The brand has invested in this vision by assembling a new womenswear creative team, spearheaded by newly appointed design director Joshua A. Bullen, formerly of Givenchy’s ready-to-wear division. Bullen will work closely with Nigo to craft designs that honour Kenzo’s heritage while embracing a contemporary aesthetic.
This strategic recalibration follows earlier observations that Nigo’s vision for womenswear while promising, hadn’t yet reached the same level of clarity as his menswear designs. This dedicated focus aims to rectify that, allowing for a more nuanced and impactful presentation of the women’s collection.
While this season marks a temporary divergence from the combined format, Kenzo has confirmed a return to co-ed shows for the spring 2026 season next June. This interim separation appears to be a calculated move to nurture and elevate the brand’s womenswear offering, ushering in a fresh chapter under new creative leadership.
Nigo, known for his streetwear origins as the founder of A Bathing Ape, took the reins at Kenzo in 2021. He has consistently drawn inspiration from the house’s founder, Kenzo Takada, citing his cross-cultural approach to design as a key influence on his own creative philosophy. This new direction for womenswear seems to be a further exploration of that philosophy, promising a compelling evolution for the brand.
