Kenzo at his home in Paris in January last year.   Joel Saget/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

Kenzo, groundbreaking Japanese designer, dies of Covid-19

Kenzo Takada, whose exuberant prints helped bring Japanese fashion to the world, died on Sunday at a hospital in Paris. He was 81.

The cause was complications of the coronavirus, a spokeswoman for the designer said, adding that he had been sick for a few weeks.

Mr. Takada, who was generally referred to only as Kenzo, shook up the established French fashion world after arriving from Japan in 1964. That he died in the middle of a Paris Fashion Week that has been struggling to go on despite the pandemic seemed symbolic. OBITUARY | Japanese fashion designer Kenzo Takada dies from COVID-19 disease ASIA.NIKKEI.COM Japanese fashion designer Kenzo Takada dies from COVID-19 disease