I pick Kokon to Zai because I think the way they make sports wear look so fashionable is amazing. By using different fabrics and prints combine with big amounts of jewellery and other accessories they created something beyond just sports wear I would have to say.
Balancing elements from the urban street and indigenous cultures is a Kokon To Zai (KTZ) signature. So you might expect from a line designed between London and Bali, where designer Marjan Pejoski and partner Sasko Bezovski first dreamed up the line on holiday, and where they still keep an atelier. "The street is an important part of what we do," says Pejoski. "I adore couture, but at the same time, the street is the platform. It's all about the mix. It's my vocabulary."
Pejoski trained at Central Saint Martins and had his own namesake label in the early days. But in the years that followed, the revolutionary decided to step away from the runway and the world of high fashion.
A partnership, in life and business, with former DJ Bezovski brought him back. Bezovski's store Kokon To Zai (Japanese for "east meets west") had opened in 1996 as a music store but over the years evolved into a fashion boutique, one that drew young designers like Bernhard Willhelm, Riccardo Tisci, and Peter Pilotto. In 2003, Pejoski created KTZ as its house line; he now designs it alongside Koji Maruyama. It is still heavily influenced by Pejoski and Bezovski's travels, but its references to the style of the streets, with its tribal-gang badges, oversized shapes, and military inflections, have made it a favourite of stars like Rihanna and Kanye West. Today there are three Kokon To Zai boutiques—two in London and one in Paris
