From East to West, Old to New—Kokon To Zai Is Everywhere

Extremely curious to know the meaning and origin of Kokon To Zai, I decided to write to the KTZ team and ask for details. I was kindly informed that the words constitute the Japanese rendition of phrases like “from east to west” or “from old to new,” loosely translated as “omnipresent.”

The name struck me as quite appropriate for a line of concept stores whose catalysts—Sasha Bezovski and Marjan Pejoski—have made the trek from east to west, renewing the old notions of progressive fashion wherever they go!

Currently Kokon To Zai runs three stores: two in London and one in Paris, stocking each with both popular and emerging brands like Material Boy, Raf Simons, Romain Kremer, Two Tom, and Walter Van Beirendonck, as well as their in-house labels KTZ and Marjan Pejoski.

As for the designer, Marjan first studied business in Macedonia before moving to London in 1989 where he studied jewelry design, shoe design, and fashion illustration at Westminster, Cordwainers College, and Chelsea Art School, respectively. He also earned a BA in women’s wear from Central St. Martins School of Art and Design.

Marjan established his eponymous label in 2000, winning the New Generation Award of the British Fashion Council for two consecutive years. He launched his menswear collection shortly after in 2003.

Avant-garde, unconventional, and flamboyant, Marjan loves dichotomies, pitting the past against the future, old vs. new, and innocent next to sinful in all sorts of dandyesque, androgynous creations.

Photos 2009 s/s collection Copyright Kokon To Zai.

Marjan Pejoski & Kokon To Zai

I love it when talent is harnessed and unleashed, rather than restrained! And so it is with Sasha Bezovski and Marjan Pejoski, who founded a new line of fashion and music boutiques called Kokon To Zai.

In addition to their own labels—KTZ and Marjan Pejoski—Kokon To Zai provides a springboard to both well-known brands and the works of emerging designers.

As you may recall, Marjan rose to fame when Bjork walked down the red carpet at the 2001 Oscars in her infamous “swan dress”—a Marjan Pejoski design!

Marjan Djodjov Pejosk was born 1968 in Skopje, the capital of Macedonia, formally part of Yugoslavia—a landlocked country neatly nestled between Albania, Bulgaria, Kosovo, Greece, and Serbia.

Although my history with Macedonia only dates back to the early nineties, Skopje is a fascinating Southeast European city with a 4,000-year history that shares with me a common thread of Roman ancestral heritage.

Before the Romans, however, the region had been incorporated into the empire of Alexander the Great, also known as King of Macedon.

Next, an outpost of Rome and then a Roman colony, Scopje (known as Scupi) existed several centuries as part of a Roman province until it was handed over to Byzantine. Hence, today the major religion is Orthodox Christianity.

What many fail to realize is that Slavic tribes entered the Balkan Peninsula later around the 6th century AD. So similar to several surrounding nations, the language of Macedonia is a Slavic language that is written in the Cyrillic alphabet.

I remember the first time I pulled into Skopje. I had taken the ferry from Brindisi, at the heel of Italy, to the port of Patras in Greece. When I drove about Skopje looking for the home of my national distributors, I was amazed at the kaleidoscope of ethnic diversity: Albanians, Roma and Vlach Gypsies, Turks, Serbs, and Bosnians.

Throughout history, Skopje has bestowed on the world many famous people like Byzantine emperor Justinian I, football legend Darko Pančev, and Mother Teresa.

Now, another figure rising to international fame is designer Marjan Pejoski.

Photo 2009 a/w collection Copyright Kokon To Zai.

Slide show 2009 a/w collection Copyright Kokon To Zai.