If Tuesday night was all about the glitz and the glam, Friday night was all about the effortlessly cool and elegance. As we sat on the Passerelle Debilly, the footbridge that connects Palais de Tokyo with the Eiffel Tower listening to City Pop, a score created by Cornelius an occasional collaborator of Nigo since the mid-1990s, it could easily stand in not only for the urban lifestyle that Paris and Tokyo shares, but the one that Kenzo Takada proposed when first arriving in the fashion capital and the one that artistic director Nigo visions today. Romantic nostalgia is actually lost in time and doesn’t belong to one generation.

Throughout the Spring/Summer 2024 collection titled “City Pop Paris,” we see code-switching from the judo uwagi is re-contextualized as a chore jacket, and seigaiha – an ancient wave print – is adapted in indigo. The collection features a creative dialogue with the Japanese graphic artist Verdy, and long-time friend of Nigo, who interpreted the KENZO logo in his signature swashed font, emblazoned across garments and accessories. Additionally informed by 1980s’ street photography, the study abounds in guard caps, bucket hats, and topless straw hats, and in baseball caps adorned with the KENZO by Verdy logo.

Like Takada-san, Nigo stays true to the Japanese brand’s roots without compromises, whether its soft tailoring or streetwear, it is a fine balance that perhaps the French and Japanese know how to pull off, but inspires the rest to be more comfortable and authentic in what we wear.