Company History
The House of KENZO was founded in
Following his success in the 1970s, he launched a series of new collections for men, women and children before creating KENZO PARFUMS in 1987 and launching his first women’s fragrance in 1988, “ça sent beau,” which was an immediate success. Since 1988, KENZO PARFUMS has been the creator of some of the most groundbreaking fragrances of the past decades, such as Flower by Kenzo, Kenzo Amour, L’eau par Kenzo, and Summer by Kenzo.
In 1993, the KENZO brand joined the LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton company.
In 1999, Takada Kenzo decided to leave the artistic direction of the KENZO brand and set out on a new journey in life. This year also celebrated Kenzo’s 30th anniversary in the industry. Odile Lobadowsky was named president and CEO of KENZO PARFUMS and in the following year, Patrick Guedj was named creative director.
The year 2000 marked the birth of FlowerbyKenzo, a fragrance that invented the scent of the poppy, and quickly became a classic in the perfume world. Since then KENZO PARFUMS continues to express the original values of the brand: attachment to nature, poetry, mixing of East and West and a playful marriage of contrasts. These elements along with the vagabond spirit of the brand are present in all forms of KENZO PARFUMS, from its magnificent installations of poppy fields around the world, to its faithful dedication to every detail of a fragrance creation.
In 2001, a skincare line, KENZOKI, was launched. Built around four Asian plants (Rice Steam, Ginger Flower, Bamboo Leaf and White Lotus), the range brought a new approach to skincare; a marriage of pleasure and efficiency.
In 2008, KENZO PARFUMS celebrated its 20th anniversary by creating a limited edition fragrance, Vintage Edition, which celebrated the 1970s, the decade in which the brand was founded.
Vision/Mission Statement
KENZO has always worked towards a multicultural world, a world of colors and beauty, with nature as a vibrant, inexhaustible source of inspiration. Classic, contemporary, or visionary, the women's and men's perfumes Kenzo created are based on values of life, energy, and a deep-rooted equilibrium.
Perfumers + Designers
Ron Arad
b. 1951, Tel Aviv. Combining playful forms and experiments with advanced technologies, Arad has emerged as one of the most influential designers of our time. In 1973, he moved to London to study architecture and made his name in the early 1980s as a self-taught designer/maker of sculptural furniture. He now works across both design and architecture. For Kenzo, Arad designed the bottle of UFO, Unidentified Fragrance Object. The bottle is designed to fit into the palm of one's hand and was on display in Arad's exhibition, No Discipline, at the Pompidou Center in Paris and the Museum of Modern Art in New York City. Only 2,000 UFO, Unidentified Fragrance Object bottles exist worldwide.
Serge Mansau
Fabien Baron
Karim Rashid
Kashiwa Sato
Kenya Hara
Alberto Morillas
Daphne Bugey
Olivier Cresp
Olivier Polge
Marie Salamagne
About Fragrance
-Top notes: also called the “head” notes, these are the first aromas one smells when applying perfume.
-Middle notes: also called the “heart” notes, these scents emerge when the top notes began to dissipate. They comprise the main body of the perfume.
-Base notes: the final phase of the perfume. When the middle notes began to evaporate, the base notes surface, giving the perfume depth and lasting quality.
Top notes are said to make the initial impression, however it is the middle and base notes that compose the main body of a fragrance.
Classification—Perfumes can be classified into the following categories: Floral, Oriental, Woody and Fresh. Within these four main categories, there are also many sub-categories that blend them together. For example, Kenzo Amour is considered a floral, woody musk and L’eau par Kenzo pour Femme is considered a floral aquatic. Fougère (meaning “fern” in French) is considered the universal fragrance family, as it includes elements from all of the four.
The sources of perfume include plants, animals and, most recently, synthetics. The combination of sources used determines the olfactive family the fragrance falls into.About Skincare
KENZOKI was created out of a desire for skincare with a difference. Far from inflated claims and guilt-ridding slogans, KENZOKI happily makes performance rhyme with pleasure. Inspired by nature, KENZOKI skincare pairs advanced research with unique textures. A range for the face and body built around four natural elements coming from Asia: white lotus, bamboo leaf, ginger flower and rice. Each with its own scent, sensations and preferred skin type...to delightfully surrender to the pleasure of beautiful skin. These ingredients are grown in Asia especially for KENZOKI.
At the heart of its products lies plant water, directly drawn from the four KENZOKI vegetals. Pure and precious, naturally compatible with the skin, plant water presents an ideal balance of essential oils, trace elements, mineral salts (calcium, potassium, magnesium), and vitamins. Plant water is the result of a patient task of the enriching and refining process performed by the plant. Plant water is bio-compatible with physiological liquids and optimizes the efficacy of the active ingredients contained in the formula by improving their absorption by the skin. In order to preserve the specificity and the naturalness of this water, a patented extraction method is used called “Hyper-frequencies” that requires no chemical solvents and guarantees a perfectly pure water.
About the KENZOKI Range
Bamboo Leaf – a crispy range of fondant, aqueous textures formulated to energize with freshness. Vitality in every way, for normal and oily skin.
Textures – Fresh, aqueous, melts on contact
Scent – Crisp green, energizing
Prefers – Normal to Oily Skin
Ginger Flower – a euphoric range built around a vibrant and suave flower. Tingling, regenerative textures to thrill normal and combination skin.
Textures – Fresh, invigorating
Scent – Refreshing, euphoric
Prefers – Normal to Combination Skin
White Lotus – Milky textures, velvety fragrance for a relaxing range inspired by the white lotus. Light, beauty, calm and voluptuousness for all skin types.
Textures – Milky, velvet-soft
Scent – Powdery white, relaxing
Prefers – All Skin Types
Rice Steam – Creamy textures, soft, delightful scent. A sensual range to pamper and nourish normal and dry skin.
Textures – Creamy, rich
Scent – Soft, sensual
Prefers – Normal to Dry Skin
