

Additionally, Takahashi has collaborated with Uniqlo to create Uniqlo Undercover, since 2011. Takahashi also creates activewear lines for men and women under the label Nike x Undercover Gyakusou, with the sportswear giant. Undercover made its debut at Paris Fashion Week in October 2002, for Spring/Summer 2003. The Paris store Colette liked his clothes so much that they asked Takahashi to present his 1998 collection "Exchange" in their store. Japanese designer Rei Kawakubo who created the brand Comme des Garcons, became Jun's mentor and persuaded him to come to Paris. In 1994–1995 he participated in Tokyo Fashion Week. Also in 1993, he launched Nowhere, a retail venture in Ura-Harajuku with his friend Nigo, the founder of BAPE. In 1993, he launched Undercover, a high-end streetwear label for men, women and children.
#Undercover jun takahashi x bape free#
In his free time, he was the vocal lead for the cover band " Tokyo Sex Pistols", where his role model was Vivienne Westwood.

In 1988, he enrolled in Fashion Education at Bunka Fashion College. He attended Gunma Kiryu Nishi High School. This moment marked the beginning of luxury fashion streetwear.Jun Takahashi ( 高橋 盾, Takahashi Jun, IPA: born 21 September 1969) is a Japanese fashion designer who created the brand Undercover.

In due course, Takahashi put on his famous ‘Scab’ show for Paris Fashion Week SS03 and, henceforth, the Western world became obsessed with the brand and the designer. In a full-circle moment, Comme des Garçons founder Rei Kawakubo was one of the first purchasers, which quickly led to a friendship between the two designers.Īfter eight years, Kawakubo had told just about everyone in the fashion scene about UNDERCOVER (she really was, and still is his biggest fan) and finally persuaded Takahashi to flaunt his designs outside of Tokyo he decided Paris was the fashion destination he resonated with the most.
#Undercover jun takahashi x bape upgrade#
The looks were a huge upgrade to the designer’s previous collections in every way: he took streetwear to high-fashion levels by using unexpected cuts, forward-thinking prints and manifestly luxe fabrics. As one can imagine, the two were already well connected within the Ura-Harajuku area, so it didn’t take long for the store to become one of the city’s most influential fashion hubs.Ī year after setting up Nowhere, Takahashi put on his first womenswear runway show at The Garage in Daikanyama for Tokyo Fashion Week. Named Nowhere, Takahashi launched the store alongside his school friend Nigo (as in Nigo the DJ, record producer and founder of Bape and Human Made). This led to the designer dreaming of his own retail space and subsequently setting up a store, circa 1993. Initially, Takahashi’s collections largely consisted of customized pieces created from vintage finds before he knew it, prominent Japanese stores such as Billy’s in Tokyo began to stock his collections. From inception, UNDERCOVER collections have been informed by rebellion, which explains the label’s ‘We Make Noise, Not Clothes’ slogan and the gothic undertones of the aesthetic. (Productive, we know.) The designer combined his interests and influences with avant-garde notions that were circling in the industry at the time to create a brand-new look. In 1988, Takahashi graduated from Bunka Fashion College in Tokyo, and just two years later, he founded UNDERCOVER. Interestingly enough, Takahashi only started to pay attention to Kawakubo after being dragged by a friend to a Comme des Garçons show. To be specific, he did this by joining punk rock tribute band the Tokyo Sex Pistols as lead vocalist adopting the nickname ‘Jonio’ to pay respects to one of his heroes, Johnny Rotten tattooing his arms up (which, FYI is an act that’s frowned upon in Japan) and, showing dedicated admiration for the work of punk designers such as Vivienne Westwood and Rei Kawakubo. Born in the historic Japanese city of Kiryū in 1969, the streetwear designer deviated from the traditions of his culture by immersing himself in the global punk movement. At heart, Jun Takahashi – founder of UNDERCOVER – is a punk.
