Over thirty years, Jun Takahashi has received an endless number of accolades to commemorate the work he has accomplished at Undercover. While it’s hard to summarize the impact thirty years of work holds, it is easy to remember its origins.
Takahashi founded Undercover while still a student at Tokyo's Bunka Fashion College in Tokyo. While there he’d become close friends with Nigo, of A Bathing Ape. This resulted in the creation of Nowhere, the Tokyo streetwear experiment that was launched by the pair in 1993. Nowhere is considered the focal point of Urahara style and is the birthplace for both Undercover and A Bathing Ape. It is where Nigo and Jun Takahashi would nurture their chaotic carefree spirits.
A year later, Jun would go on to present his first runway show during Tokyo Fashion Week. While presenting one of his collections, he happened to catch the attention of Rei Kawakubo of Comme des Garcons. Galvanized by his work, Kawakubo decided to become Takahashi’s mentor. She then persuaded him to move to Paris and base his label there near the Comme headquarters.
Jun worked alongside Rei for eight years before debuting his Parisian runway ‘Scab’ in 2002. Scab was a turning point in Takahashi’s career. Before this Takahashi only retained a small cult following. This quickly changed, shock and awe followed, propelling Jun Takahashi and his label to the world stage. Scab is still known as one of the greatest debut collections at Paris Fashion Week and solidified Jun Takahashi’s career.
Thirty years later, Jun Takahashi went from a Punk outsider to one of the most influential designers in the world, releasing highly coveted collections season after season. Driven by the motto “we make noise not clothes'' progress is paramount and the label never strays from creating bold pieces that take to their rebellious punk roots.
