KENZO TO DO INEXPENSIVE LINE
The latest development in the licensing of designer names by major retailers occurred last week when The Limited Stores, a specialty chain with 550 outlets around the country, formally announced its licensing agreement with Kenzo Takada, the Paris-based Japanese designer, for a new line of inexpensive clothes to be called Album by Kenzo.
At a luncheon news conference at the Asia Society, Robert C. Grayson, president of The Limited, said, ''We evaluated every designer in the world and decided Kenzo was best.''
While that may be purely the opinion of the chain's executives, The Limited's move to sign Kenzo to design special collections four times a year (with no connection with his two Paris collections) must be considered ground-breaking. Although Halston was the first major designer to sign a licensing agreement with a large retailer, designing Halston III for J. C. Penney, the Kenzo contract marks the first time a ''European'' designer has entered into this new realm of designer-store tie-ins.
A First for The Limited
Perhaps more important, it marks the entry of The Limited Inc., the parent company based in Columbus, Ohio, into the designer field. Until now, The Limited, begun in 1963 by Leslie H. Wexner, its chairman, has primarily sold its own private-label merchandise to a mass-market customer. It strengthened its hold on that market through the acquisition of Lane Bryant and Roaman's in 1982.
In fact, the company's efforts have been so successful that The Limited Inc. qualifies as one of the quiet giants of the fashion industry. Its net sales for 1983 were $1.09 billion with a net income of $70.4 million, an increase of 111 per cent over the year before.
More recently, Mr. Wexner tried unsuccessfully to take over Carter Hawley Hale, which owns Bergdorf Goodman and Neiman-Marcus, among other properties.
''We go about things very quietly,'' Mr. Wexner said at the news conference. ''We were one of the first stores to have our goods made in Hong Kong. We've always believed in making our own merchandise, whereas most retailers are just buyers and have trouble manufacturing the clothes they sell. We've been doing it for 15 years, and we opened three factories in mainland China 6 years ago. And we have not given up on Carter Hawley Hale.'' The Easygoing Kenzo Style
The Kenzo Album collection, which will be made in Europe and the United States, is a more commercial version of his more expensive line. It will feature casual oversize blazers, red-and-black wool plaid and corduroy pants, brightly colored cotton shirts and snowflake-pattern sweaters - in short, the easygoing, witty clothes for which Kenzo has become famous. Prices range from $125 to $160 for jackets, and $30 to $70 for pants and skirts.
Not all retailers, however, welcome the designer-retailer licenses. R. H. Macy, for example, announced it would no longer carry Kenzo's Paris collection when it learned of his deal with The Limited. Wexner Sees No Problem
But Mr. Wexner does not think the new contract will dim the glow of Kenzo's name. ''My point of view is that people live very mixed-media lives,'' he said. ''You eat at '21' one day and at McDonald's the next. And the appetite of the mass market for good things and upscale fashion is now proven.''
That may be. But it is not clear what may happen when The Limited carries the new Kenzo line in its first New York store, scheduled to open next summer at 62d Street and Madison Avenue, just south of Kenzo's own boutique, at 69th Street and Madison, where the prices are considerably higher.
