Undercover

Founded by Jun Takahashi in 1990

“The first time I heard the name of Jun Takahashi was in the 1990s in Tokyo. Rei Kawakubo of

Comme des Garcons pronounced his name with one word: brave”

– Suzy Menkes, Vogue

Born in Kiryu, Gunma Prefecture, Japan September 1969, Jun Takahashi is the founder and

designer of UNDERCOVER. It is a Japanese fashion brand known for its streetwear aesthetics

taking influence from punk culture, art, and Japanese subculture. It is regarded as a luxury

streetwear and is often showcased at Paris Fashion Week.

Influenced by punk culture and UK fashion, Takahashi’s interest in fashion piqued around the

age of 15 and he wanted to become a designer. Since then, Takahashi studied Fashion Design

and enrolled in Bunka Fashion College in 1988. While attending his first Comme des Garcons

runway show during his time in college, he founded the brand ‘UNDERCOVER’ along with his

friend Hironori Ichinose, who helped him come up with the name. Seeing Rei Kawakubo’s

runway show full of effortless fusion of high-end fashion and streetwear; it changed his mindset

about fashion, and Takahashi became influenced by her works.

After graduating from Bunka Fashion College, Takahashi began publishing and writing a column

in the magazine Takarajima along with NIGO, the creator of Bathing Ape, whilst also selling punk

inspired graphic tees heavily influenced from early Vivienne Westwood works and Rock bands

The Sex Pistols that aligned with his visions and influence of youth culture for ‘UNDERCOVER’

in 1993 at a Japanese store called Billy’s. It was then when they decided to open a store in

Harajuku called ‘NOWHERE’ around the same time ‘UNDERCOVER’ was launched, creating a

name.

Thanks to the success of ‘NOWHERE’

, Takahashi began to grow a following in which Tokyo

fashion insiders became ‘in the know’ of his works and designs which led him to start working on

his first debut collection. With much anticipation on Takahashi’s debut collection, he finally

presented UNDERCOVER in the fall winter collection in 1994 at Tokyo Fashion Week which put

him on the map of the fashion industry. His first collection consisted of Avant-Garde streetwear

with a blend of punk and grunge mix wear highlighting a rebellious side to his craft incorporating

traditional Japanese clothing with a flare of English punk. It channeled everything he loved and

it was enchanting and out there to say the least. The release of UNDERCOVER’s first debut

collection made a huge impact on Takahashi’s career because it showcased his technical skills

along with his vision influencing the punk and streetwear scene.

Throughout his career, Jun Takahashi style has been known for his references to pop cultures

and art forms in his collections. One of his most notable references to an art form is in the Fall

winter 2019 season of ‘A Clockwork Orange’ inspired by the Stanley Kubrick film. But above all

his punk and pop culture references, Jun Takahashi also showcases political movement within

his label. In 2002, UNDERCOVER had its biggest breakout yet during the Paris Fashion Week

Show which was a turning point in his career. In Takahashi’s SS2003 ‘Scab’ runway collection,

he references the 9/11 attack that occurred at the time and had wanted to convey a messageabout ethics and morals towards the Muslim community’s treatment post 9/11. He did this by

including ‘Crust Punk’ aesthetic and fabrics ranging onto trying different styles sending anti-war,

anti-imperialist and anti-capitalist messages in this runway season, setting up his later

collections. With gaining recognition with well renowned designers like Rei Kawakubo of Comme Des

Garcons, Jun Takahashi has received multiple fashion awards including the Mainichi Fashion

Grand prize of ‘New Face’ in 1997 and ‘Grand Prize’ award in 2001 and 2013. Today, Jun

Takahashi continues to elevate his vision and inspiration towards his label UNDERCOVER and

is part of the Official Paris Fashion Week whilst also having store locations across the globe

including: Hong Kong, Taiwan, Tokyo along with retail stall at Rei Kawakubo’s infamous store,

Dover Street Market.

By Lina Hansrong, a student on the BA Journalism course at London College of Communication