The story of one brand: Kokon To Zai
IN THE LIGHT, THERE IS A MUCH OF CHARTER WHICH WE LOVE FROM AND TO. We hunt for their stuff, ready to buy all the rail on the sale and look forward to showing new collections. It's time to figure out what the phenomenon of their attractiveness. Today we talk about the London brand Kokon To Zai (KTZ), which balances on the verge of music and fashion, makes clothes without gender identification and interprets ethnic and religious symbolism.
The KTZ brand appeared in 2003, and it was founded by immigrants from Macedonia - designer Marjan Pezoski and DJ Sasko Bezovski. Before launching his own brand of clothes, Sasco put records in nightclubs, and Marjan made stage costumes for Björk (he was the author of the swan dress, in which the singer appeared on the Oscar in 2001). In 1996, the friends opened their first store in London's Soho: in Kokon To Zai, nontrivial brands were sold - from the queen of British punk Vivienne Westwood to the member of the Antwerp six Walter Van Beirendonck. “In Japanese, Kokon To Zai means“ everything you knew, from the East to the West, ”or“ everything passes, ”is shorter,” Pejoski jokes in an interview with Papermag. KTZ was a hybrid of fashion and music stores, a kind of platform for the implementation of creative projects. The partners opened a second store in Paris, and later launched their main project, the eponymous clothing brand. “The philosophy of Kokon To Zai is built on the love of travel and music. We literally honor world culture,” says Pejoski.
Each brand collection is full of ethnographic references and appeals to multiculturalism. Pezhoski and Bezovski manage to combine the incompatible: severity and anarchy, deliberate performance and deep idea, past and present, religious and secular. The world-famous brand brought the collection autumn-winter - 2012/13. The black T-shirts, bomber jackets, dresses, bandannas and leggings depicted Orthodox crosses, sacred skulls and inscriptions in Russian: "Let me love and steal," "I danced inside" and "Want to hurt me." Things that are strikingly reminiscent of Schemamonk's robes can still be ordered from the online store of the brand.
"We are the children of National Geographic. We like every single culture. We will cherish and cherish those ideas that are slowly but surely disappearing," said Pezhoski in 2013 during the men's fashion week in London. He calls himself a romantic. I would like to add "pacifist, idealist and lover of topography." In the men's collection KTZ Spring-Summer - 2013, all outerwear, from capes to daflottes, as well as sandals were covered with drawings from ancient geographical maps. On one of the ponchos, designers even combined all the flags of the world, making a collage of them. Isn't this a manifesto about world peace?
Pezhoski and Bezovski managed to create a certain cyber-style, which today is part of a global fashion business. Ten years ago, they moved to Bali and hooked up to the production of local artisans: Balinese turned the craziest fantasies of Marian Pezhoski and his co-designer Koji Maruyama into real things. For inspiration for the 2014/15 fall-winter collection, they went to Morocco. “I like to combine national costumes with something modern, for example with a blown jacket or Nike sneakers,” says Pezhoski. The trip to Morocco entailed further exploration of North Africa, including nomadic Berber tribes. As a result, the collection of this season turned out to be very colorful: airy tunics come complete with bulk outerwear with hoods, and leggings and long skirts adorn black and white geometric prints and mirror embroideries. The brand reaffirmed its reputation as a manufacturer of clothing for lovers of acid parties. However, it is not necessary to be a club maniac to appreciate pleated skirts, organza blouses or laser-cut leather appliqués — the whole KTZ value system is built on contrasts.
“Buying a visual product without a musical component is like watching a silent movie. Musicians have always been pioneers in terms of fashion, this concerns not only our things, but also the industry as a whole,” says the creative director of the brand. Perhaps Marjanu Pezhoski has something to be proud of: hip-hop stars - from Rihanna, Beyonce, Jay Z, M.I.A., Kanye West to Rita Ora and A $ AP Rocky - wear KTZ, yo!