Hypebeast. Driving Culture Forward

Profile

Industries

Founded September 21, 1969

Headquarters Kiryu, Japan

Description

Jun Takahashi is a pioneering Japanese fashion designer and the founder of UNDERCOVER. Born in the city of Kiryu in Gunma Prefecture, Japan, Takahashi studied fashion design at the prestigious Bunka Academy of Fashion in Tokyo. While there, Takahashi met NIGO with whom he would found the UNDERCOVER label, with Takahashi continuing to develop the label after graduating in 1991. With the opening of the influential NOWHERE boutique with NIGO in Harajuku in 1993, UNDERCOVER was placed at the epicenter of the Ura-Harajuku movement, thus establishing Takahashi as one of the most prominent designers in the Japanese fashion scene. In 1994, Takahashi also began a brand called A.F.F.A. with Hiroshi Fujiwara although releases were intermittent, eventually being shelved completely. Heavily influenced by punk music, particularly by The Sex Pistols (he played in a cover band during university called The Tokyo Sex Pistols, and he is nicknamed “Johnio” for his resemblance to frontman Johnny Rotten), Takahashi’s initial collections consisted of ripped up, deconstructed, shredded and patched leather jackets and T-shirts, with his style being described as conceptual and challenging. Other references range from flower bouquets, A Clockwork Orange by Stanley Kubrick, taxidermy and manga. Debuting at Tokyo and Paris Fashion Weeks in 1994 and 2002 respectively, Takahashi won critical acclaim from the likes of Miuccia Prada, Rei Kawakubo and Suzy Menkes, as well as two prestigious prizes awarded by the major Mainichi Shimbun newspaper. Although Takahashi describes his own aesthetic as “strange, but beautiful,” his designs have also proved commercially successful, netting him coveted relationships with the likes of Uniqlo via the UU label, with Nike under the Gyakusou performance running collection, a limited edition digital camera with Canon, and a stall at Kawakubo’s Dover Street Market. Takahashi is married and has one son, and creates his designs from his studio in Tokyo called Undercoverlab.

Fashion

UNDERCOVER Rejoins GU for "KOSMIK/NOISE" SS24 Collection

Featuring convertible designs that combine UC’s rebellious attitude with GU’s accessibility.

By Logan Fairbrother/Feb 14, 2024

Feb 14, 2024

4,262 Hypes

2 Comments

Footwear

UNDERCOVER Reunites With Vans for FW24

Revisiting UC’s “ANARCHY IS THE KEY” and D-Hand motifs across the Sk8-Hi and Era respectively.

By Logan Fairbrother/Jan 24, 2024

Jan 24, 2024

3,805 Hypes

0 Comments

Toys

UNDERCOVER and Medicom Toy Collaborate on "KUBRICK" BE@RBRICK

Modeled after famed film director Alfred Hitchcock.

By Arthur Parkhouse/Nov 21, 2023

Nov 21, 2023

2,648 Hypes

0 Comments

Fashion

Jun Takahashi Apologizes For Using Real Butterflies During UNDERCOVER's SS24 Runway Show

The designer featured three terrarium ballgowns with encasings of flying butterflies at Paris Fashion Week.

By Sophie Caraan/Nov 4, 2023

Nov 4, 2023

6,840 Hypes

7 Comments

Fashion

fragment design and UNDERCOVER's FW23 Collection Releases Next Week

Packed with over 30 co-designed pieces, the duo has just fully revealed the upcoming capsule.

By Logan Fairbrother/Nov 2, 2023

Nov 2, 2023

9,298 Hypes

3 Comments

Art

Jun Takahashi, The UNDERCOVER Artist

From Issue 32 of ‘Hypebeast Magazine’, Jun Takahashi reveals a rare look into his fine art practice and how he balances his painting discipline with his design work at UNDERCOVER.

By Dylan Kelly/Oct 31, 2023

Oct 31, 2023

3,322 Hypes

1 Comments