Britney Spears has entered the high fashion stratosphere, hooking up with luxury label Kenzo as the face of their Spring Summer 18 La Collection Memento No 2 Campaign. Kenzo made the official announcement today, confirming fan suspicions after leaked teasers appeared on social media last November. The unlikely coupling is sure to set tongues wagging and social media exploding.
Since the launch of the SS18 Runway, followers of the pop diva made an early call on the collaboration, linking a ‘Secret Project’ caption tweeted alongside a blurred image of the singer’s famous blonde tresses and a green jumper back to the Kenzo line release. These early teasers formed the precursors to the official campaign, shot on the streets of LA by Peter Lindbergh. Lindbergh happens to be the esteemed photographer credited with igniting the supermodel era off the back of his British Vogue front covers. In an interview with Vogue Britney stated:
“We had fun on set, even though it was a bit weird for me at first. I am used to shooting in a studio or a small space, and this was on the street. We were out there and I had really promiscuous clothes on, which felt odd, but, of course, on film it turned out to be really cool.”
A behind the scenes clip reveals a taught Britney sporting a sexed up version of the collection that is far removed from the traditional Japanese influences seen on the runway debut. Ultimately, Britney’s involvement has brought new longevity to the collection, peaking the interest of new audiences within her sphere which currently sits at 19 million followers on Instagram alone.
Kenzo’s creative directors Carol Lim and Humberto Leon approached Spears and Lindbergh with their vision of a tribute to icons, from the houses signature pieces and prints, to Britney’s own iconography as an American pop singer and publicly proclaimed ‘Queen of Denim’. Denim forms a large part of Britney’s signature image and hold its own significance in American fashion.
To make sense of the collaboration it is important to note that denim has also played a heavy part in the cross-cultural archives of the Kenzo collections since it’s 1986 runway debut of Kenzo Jeans. The spring summer 18 collection is the second tribute line honouring the houses signature Bamboo print, incorporated denim and Kenzo ‘tiger’ motifs with overriding features that link in external references such as quintessential Japanese artwork ‘The Great Wave of Kanagawa’, which was reproduced for the collection. According to the Kenzo Channel:
“[Directors Carol Lim and Humberto Leon treat the vaults like a jumping off point – finding the strands, ideas, and ingenuity that particularly interest them and then rework, reinvent and revitalize. The result is something completely new with a reverent grasp on the codes of label founder Kenzo Takada.] [Today as Asian-Americans, we are excited to honour this historic collection and modernize it through our own eyes. We take archival elements and rework them with summer staples such as swimwear and Hawaiian prints but always with a Japanese touch]”.
After years of sold out shows at her Las Vegas Residency, Britney has taken the world by surprise with the next stage of her evolution. A Kenzo teaser primed audiences with a clip captioned “are you ready” before the full images were released. The answer is a resounding YES. At 36 years old, it is clear there is no slowing down the mum of two, who looks better than ever with the help of some Kenzo polish.
#KENZOLOVESBRITNEY
To see the full collection head here and just for fun share your favourite Britney Fashion moment in the comments section below.