Dear Shaded Viewers,
Jun Takahashi’s first official Undercover collection presented at Paris Fashion Week was in 2002, with the Spring/Summer 2003 collection titled SCAB and happy to say that I was there and have been following his collections ever since. This marked a significant milestone for both Takahashi and the brand, as it introduced Undercover to the international fashion stage.
The collection was characterized by its bold political and anti-war messaging, reflecting Takahashi’s punk ethos and his response to the global tensions of the early 2000s, including the aftermath of 9/11 and the lead-up to the Iraq War. SCAB featured garments that were both visually striking and conceptually charged, with strong anti-imperialist and anti-capitalist themes. The designs were detailed and meticulously constructed, combining technical fabrics, punk rocker elements, and anarchist symbolism. Takahashi’s presentation was not just about fashion, but about making a statement, using the runway as a platform to critique power structures and challenge the status quo, all while maintaining a high level of craftsmanship and avant-garde style
Jun Takahashi stands as a visionary at the crossroads of Japanese streetwear and high fashion, consistently blurring the lines between punk rebellion and avant-garde artistry. As the creative force behind Undercover, Takahashi has cultivated a brand that is universally recognized as “the essence of Japanese cool”—a label defined by its fearless experimentation and meticulous craftsmanship. Since the brand’s inception in the early 1990s, Undercover has drawn inspiration from Takahashi’s deep-rooted love for punk subcultures, evident in the brand’s signature “strange, but beautiful” aesthetic, which fuses vivid color, deconstructed silhouettes, and a sense of narrative depth.
Takahashi’s recent collections, such as the Autumn/Winter 2025-2026 shown at Paris Fashion Week, have further cemented his reputation for genre-defying work. This collection was a fantastical odyssey, weaving together the electronic rock soundscapes of the 1970s and 1980s with the surreal visual language of Spanish artist Josep Baqué. The result was a lineup that juxtaposed futuristic, tribal motifs with nods to British pastoral dreams—luxurious tweeds, patchwork cargos, and theatrical accessories like jeweled caps and modular wool armbands. The collection’s bold use of color, texture, and innovative technique created a hypnotic narrative where past, present, and future collide.
A show that stays in my memory was his show for Fall 2024 Ready-to-Wear—presented at Paris Fashion Week— a deeply poetic collaboration with filmmaker Wim Wenders, who wrote and recited the soundtrack for the collection. The collection, inspired by Wenders’ film Perfect Days—about a Tokyo toilet cleaner who finds beauty in the mundane—reflected Takahashi’s own meditation on the preciousness of everyday life and the value of routine. Wenders contributed a poem titled Watching a Working Woman, which narrated the life of a 40-year-old single mother, capturing the quiet dignity and poetry of her daily rituals. Wenders’ restrained, thoughtful recitation served as the soundtrack for the runway, guiding the audience through the collection’s emotional landscape. On a personal note Wenders film Perfect Days is one of my absolute favourite films it is about nothing and at the same time everything.
The show itself was an ode to ordinary life, reimagined through Takahashi’s lens: everyday garments like tank tops, jeans, cardigans, and sweatshirts were elevated with unexpected details—chiffon, metallic tinsel, and mohair swatches—transforming the commonplace into something extraordinary. The collection opened with a jumpsuit designed to look like a simple white tank and jeans, and closed with a tracksuit bursting with golden tinsel and a gilded train, symbolizing the extraordinary in the ordinary.
This collaboration marked a profound shift in Takahashi’s work, emphasizing individual humanity and personal narratives over grand, tribal gestures, and highlighting the designer’s ongoing dialogue with film, poetry, and the beauty found in the everyday.
Undercover’s enduring appeal lies in its ability to channel youth counterculture into high fashion, making Takahashi a true pioneer. His work is not just about clothes, but about storytelling and emotional resonance, a philosophy encapsulated in his own words: “Clothes have meaning. Otherwise, it’s just cocktail dresses and bags—and that’s not interesting”. With each collection, Jun Takahashi challenges conventions and invites us to see fashion as a powerful medium for personal and cultural expression.
Attached please find Undercover Pre Spring 2026.
Later,
Diane
