Kenzo dress - early 80s?

Very interesting! My first thought is early 80s too...what does the label look like?
 
Thanks for taking a peek, Maggie.

The label is a similar colour palette to the one on the resource from a Kenzo suit I have and it was agreed late 70s, early 80s on that one a while back.

Funny thing is, yesterday I was confident it was early 80s and then I woke up this morning second guessing myself ???



 
I'm going to swim against the tide here and go with '70s!

A while ago we had a great early '70s swing coat from Kenzo - it had the same label and was very '40s inspired. The shoulder line on your dress is too "neat" for '80s IMHO (when the shoulder line tended to slip down the arm a bit or be padded to high heaven). Yours looks very '40s in style, and the print reminds me of the '70s florals too. I really like the early Kenzos and want to see more of them :)

Update: I later met the woman who had imported the Kenzo coat to Australia: it was 1978, not early '70s.
 
I love it when we have consensus - lol

When I went to the YSL show - highly recommend for those who can make it here, it's FABULOUS - I would try to guess the periods before reading the blurbs. My guesses were mostly off on mid 70s - I would guess 80s.

Thanks for all your input!
 
I'm getting the 70's vibe on this, too, Deborah. I had a very similar dress a couple of years ago (different maker, but an upscale name, too), and was able to pretty accurately date it to the 70s via some research.
 
Kenzo isn't the easiest designer to date since he often bucked trends but I think this is from the 80's. He did dark blue prints in the early 80's. It's very fluid and looks like wool. Although it's difficult to determine the dress length from the photo, it is moving up to the knee. There is a wider, emphasised shoulder silhouette.

It is a lovely dress.
 
Hi Deborah,

I popped earlier and noticed your dress. I want to show you my suit that's from the same collection as your dress. I haven't added it to my website yet but I will soon. I was leaning to late 70s on this.

What I love about this suit is not just the bold floral almost tapestry-like fabric (wonderful, don't you think?) but also the way the skirt ties in an obi sash fashion. I had a whole lot of difficulty trying to tie it and had to watch youtube videos to figure it out. The best "how to tie and obi" instructions were, of course, in Japanese.

Anyway, here's my Kenzo that's certainly from the same collection as your dress. Like your dress, my suit has an asymmetrical closure on the top. And of course, same fluid wool fabric.

kenzo1.jpg



kenzo2.jpg


I love how he uses this stripe print to define the pleats on the skirt.

kenzoskirt.jpg
 
Wow - love the dress, Lucitebox (sorry I don't know your name). I have never seen a Kenzo I didn't like, but that one is special - and you did a great job with the tie! Thanks for posting it - great photography, too.

Late 70s it is.

Thanks ya'll - this has been fun.

Chris, I look forward to seeing yours!
 
Great to see this other Kenzo piece and the kimono neckline. Here's an excerpt I found from 1982 and the link to the rest of the review:

"Kenzo is the resident Japanese designer who has been attracting attention since he helped start the vogue for wild and woolly fashion shows more than a decade ago. Junko Koshino, Kansai Yamamoto and Issey Miyake joined a number of French designers, including Karl Lagerfeld, Sonia Rykiel and Jean-Charles de Castelbajac at his show Wednesday night. It was the last presentation of the season and the clothes ran counter to many of the trends established earlier. Except for a couple of microminis, briefer than anything shown elsewhere, the clothes were loose, full and calf-length. Back to His Roots

Kenzo returned to his roots and showed short jackets with kimono necklines along with separates in various dark blue prints, like Japanese work clothes. There were also vivid stripes and flower combinations in bulky clothes worn with turbans that were inspired by Afghanistan, according to the best guess. What he did was revive the ethnic element in fashion, one of the themes that has been neglected in recent seasons, and he did it with considerable charm."

http://tinyurl.com/6bacwv
 
Vertu--you may have gotten us all off of the fence, though I'd suppose that kimono styles were often part of his repertoire.
I'd definitely buy into the year '82 on this, though. Thanks for the info!

And, thanks for the compliments, Deborah. I'm Holly, by the way.


Chris--do post yours--it'll be a trio of Kenzo.
 
Very interesting stuff!

I want to add that Holly's closer shots compel me to add that the fabric has an ikat look.
 
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