Japanese fashion designer Kenzō Takada was BOTD in 1939. Born in Himeji, he became interested in design after reading his sister’s fashion magazines. After briefly studying literature at university, he dropped out to attend Bunka Fashion College in Tokyo, becoming one of its first male students. After winning a fashion prize, he began his career designing girls clothing for a department store. In 1964, his apartment was demolished in preparation for the Tokyo Olympics, and he was given a year’s rent in compensation. He spent the funds on a trip to Paris, intending to stay for six months, but settling there for the remainder of his life. He opened his first clothing store in 1970. In a break from the sombre, highly structured couture of Christian Dior and Yves Saint-Laurent, his designs combined brightly coloured prints and loosely draped fabrics inspired by traditional kimono, energising the runways of Paris ready-to-wear fashion. His work was quickly featured in Elle and American Vogue, launching him to international fame. In the 1980s, he expanded his brand into menswear, a jeans line and signature perfumes. He sold his company to Louis Vuitton in the 1990s, staying on as a designer until 1999. Changing direction in retirement, he designed costumes for opera productions, created a homeware range and designed uniforms for the 2004 Japanese Olympics team. Takada was in a relationship with French architect Xavier de Castella until the latter’s death in 1990 from an AIDS-related illness. Takada died in 2020 of a COVID-related illness, aged 81.