Fashion designer Kenzo Takada dies from COVID-19 at age 81
FILE - In this Saturday, March 28, 2015 file photo, Japanese fashion designer Takada Kenzo poses for photographers as he arrives at the Rose Ball in Monaco. Fashion designer Kenzo Takada dies from COVID-19 complications at age 81 near Paris, spokeswoman and reports said Sunday Oct. 4, 2020. (AP Photo/Lionel Cironneau, file)PARIS โ Kenzo Takada, the iconic Franco-Japanese fashion designer famed for his jungle-infused designs and free-spirited aesthetic that channeled his home continent of Asia, has died. The family said in a statement to French media Sunday that Takada died from complications from COVID-19 in a hospital in Neuilly-sur-Seine, near Paris. A public relations officer for Kenzo's brand confirmed that Takada died, but didn't give a cause of death.
$19,000 handbag destroyed by Australian customs agents
An alligator-skin handbag worth $19,000 was destroyed by Australian customs agents. CNN Travel reported the Yves Saint Laurent bag was bought from a boutique in France and seized when it arrived at a cargo port in Perth in January. Agents said the shopper had secured the appropriate license to export the bag from Europe but had not gotten the import license required for an alligator-skin product. That led to the Australian agents confiscating the bag. While those types of products are legal in Australia, they are controlled through a program that restricts trade on endangered species.