Wolford Names Nao Takekoshi Artistic Director, Launches Grace Jones Campaign
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Wolford has named Nao Takekoshi its new artistic director, celebrating the news with a new campaign featuring Grace Jones.
Takekoshi takes the helm of the bodywear brand following a capsule collection that debuted in 2021. He started his career at Issey Miyake in Tokyo, before going on to work with fashion houses including Cerruti, Gucci, Donna Karan, Jil Sander and Calvin Klein.
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“The arrival of Nao Takekoshi marks an important step in Wolford’s strategic development based on strengthening and modernizing the brand’s essential and iconic styles, fashion bases for every woman’s wardrobe, while preserving a consistent global brand,” the company said in a statement.
In parent company Lanvin Group’s first round of financial results since the company went public last December, it revealed that Wolford’s revenues rose 16 percent to 126.6 million euros in 2021. Wolford is the group’s biggest brand in terms of sales.
In prior seasons, Wolford has engaged in a series of collaborations with bigger names. Last September, the brand brought on Mugler’s creative director Casey Cadwallader for a capsule collection of 12 styles of bodysuits, dresses, gloves, legging and cycling shorts.
Wolford previously partnered with GCDS for the brand’s first athleisure collection, with other collections from Adidas, Amina Muaddi and Alberta Ferretti.
The spring 2023 campaign, shot by Richard Phibbs, reunites the fashion icon with a brand she first modeled for back in the 1990s.
Jones reestablishes the brand’s fashion cred. “As Wolford evolves, the creative concept of the brand focuses on the adoption of its iconic and timeless essentials, reaffirming the core values of the brand through beauty and unique presence of Grace Jones,” said Wolford chief commercial officer Silvia Azzali.
“This special collaboration between Wolford and Grace Jones represents a confirmation of the fundamentals of Wolford, paying homage to the brand’s timeless style through a bold visual vocabulary,” she added.
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