At Kenzo, Life's A Beach

For spring 2014, Kenzo’s creative directors Humberto Leon and Carol Lim went back to their roots: to the sun-drenched shores of California. Beachwear was the dress code, and even classic tailoring was given a shake up and repurposed into sleek and sporty silhouettes. An impressive grand-scale set was constructed complete with a waterfall as the backdrop.

The prints, always a strength at Kenzo, were graphic and colorful, drawn from various walks of the aquatic life — a pop fish print stood out, as did the hand-drawn print of falling rain that was constant throughout. The latter looked best when it was almost over-styled, like with the last look: a long dress and sleeveless jacket in a cherry red.

All the oceanic references were about more than just creating a pretty picture, though. No strangers to collaboration, this season Leon and Lim partnered with the Blue Marine Foundation in an effort to build awareness around conserving the world’s oceans, particular to dwindling populations of various fish species as a result of overfishing. The slogan tees, reading "No Fish No Nothing," as well as some of the sweaters, will be available to purchase in January, with proceeds going to the foundation.

It’s nice when designers use the platform that fashion week provides to promote more than just their product — as we saw with Rick Owens earlier in the week. Besides, at Kenzo, the product always speaks well for itself. This season saw the introduction of a style of sneakers (though they've partnered with Vans for previous seasons, this is their first solo endeavor) and with flats trending in a big way, cool kicks are going to be a wardrobe staple come spring.