UNDERCOVER

Designer Jun Takahashi is a big deal. From humble beginnings in the lush mountainous of Gunma in Japan he now operates on the global stage with annual collections at Paris plus mainstream collaborations with Nike and Uniqlo. But it all started with the fashion brand UNDERCOVER,  which he founded together with Ichinose Hironori, while still studying at the Bunka Fashion College, Tokyo. Momentum behind UNDERCOVER really began to take hold in 1993, when young Jun teamed up with everyone’s favourite purveyor of primate couture Nigo to open up a store called NOWHERE.

It turns out the ‘Nowhere’ is actually in the trendy Tokyo district of Harajuku (coolest fashion area), and with the support of the founder of A Bathing Ape, things started to pick-up for UNDERCOVER. With his unique worldview and cutting-edge style, he garnered fierce support amongst young people, and was a front-runner during the 90s UraHara movement, a movement based in the very same area of Harajuku. He made his Paris debut in the Spring/Summer Collection in 2003, following up with annual appearances ever since. In 2010, he announced a collaboration with Nike entitled GYAKUSOU. In 2013, he collaborated with Uniqlo to create UU, which rolled out across 11 markets.