![]() Vivienne Westwood was an important role model for Takahashi in his early work (Takahashi collected vintage Seditionaries pieces and even published a book about them). Singer for a Sex Pistols cover band (The Tokyo Sex Pistols) in the 90s, Takahashi's immersion in the punk subculture is evident in his work. It wasn't until 2002 when Takahashi presented his first Undercover collection at Paris Fashion Week. The front row was designated for fans, rather than the press, who were relegated to the back row.Īfter 4 years of designing for Undercover and being mentored by none other than Rei Kawakubo (Kawakubo was an early fan of Takahashi's work), Takahashi was persuaded to visit Paris in 1998. Undercover's early shows were guerrilla in style and intimate often held in warehouses and parking lots and with Takahashi's friends as models. Takahashi's creative high-fashion take on these concepts were fresh and unique. The 90s was an era of the boom of street culture, pop culture and social 'tribes' mixing with minimalist design. His unique take on streetwear resulted in Undercover becoming one of the fastest growing streetwear brands in 1990s Japan. Takahashi began to blend streetwear with experimental concepts, creating a creative mix of street, chaos, fragility, peace, drama and humour. Unsure of his own creative direction while studying, it wasn't until Takahashi saw his first Comme des Garcons show that he became inspired to break stereotypes. Showing his first collection at Japan Fashion Week just a year later in 1994, it was clear that Undercover was a brand to keep an eye on. Moreover the Undercoverism men’s line was created for the fall / winter 2021 collection, a label designed “for men of the next generation who empathize with the” ism “of the Undercover brand”.Founding the high-end streetwear brand Undercover while still studying at Bunka Fashion College in Tokyo, Takahashi's first boutique, 'Nowehere' opened in Ura-Harajuku in 1993. ![]() Parallel to the show, in fact, the brand immediately put on sale a selection of limited items from it. ![]() Pierpaolo Piccioli defined him as “always unpredictable in the short circuits of things, with a cultured way of doing streetwear, which is full of references”.Īfter 19 years of shows in Paris Undercover returned to Japan for the men’s and women’s fashion shows of the fall / winter 2021 collection, due to the pandemic restrictions. It’s a theatrical collection, traveling between past and future. The following year, the Italian fashion house Valentino collaborated with the Japanese brand on the fall-winter 2019/20 collection. The menswear collections represent a turning point for Undercover, with the exception of two special fashion shows set up during Pitti Uomo, the first in 2009 and in January 2018. After the last show in Paris, in fact, only the men’s collections will be exhibited during the fashion week, while women’s wear will be presented exclusively in the showroom. In 2018 Jun Takahashi decided to stop the women’s clothing fashion shows, focusing exclusively on menswear. Titled “Undercover” it contains a preface by Suzy Menkes and over 300 photographs. In 2016 Takahashi published a book about his creative approach and the history of Undercover published by Rizzoli New York. The designer, who won the Japanese award sponsored by the Mainichi newspaper for the second time after 2001, is the fourth to receive the double awards after Rei Kawakubo, Issey Miyake and Yohji Yamamoto. In 2013 Jun Takahashi received the first prize of the Mainichi Fashion Grand Prix, now at its 31st edition. The Nikelab x Undercover collaboration returned for a second capsule collection in 2015, complete with clothing and shoes. Undercover began the new decade with a collaboration with Nike, interpreting Nike garments for a winter capsule collection. In 2005, Canon asked Takahashi to create a line of limited edition camera cases. Undercover is a very appreciated brand by international designers such as Miuccia Prada, Rei Kawakubo and by the writer Suzy Menkes, who recently defined Takahashi as “the essence of Japanese cool”. These range among flower bouquets, Kubrick’s A Clockwork Orange, taxidermy and Japanese manga art. ![]() ![]() Takahashi’s strengths are its ability to interpret street fashion and the suggestions that inspire it. Undercover is a Japanese brand created in 1994 by Jun Takahashi. UNDERCOVER, JUN TAKAHASHI’S STREET FASHION BRAND ![]()
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