With over 35 years at the forefront of fashion, UNDERCOVER fuses the raw power of punk culture with avant-garde aesthetics and masterful craftsmanship. At the heart of it all is Jun Takahashi – a designer whose creative philosophy, “making art, not clothes,” defines the brand’s USP: clothing as a visual and cultural signal – a pleasant noise in everyday life.
Jun Takahashi – From Punk Kid to Fashion Visionary
Born in 1969 in Kiryū, Japan, Jun Takahashi studied at the renowned Bunka Fashion College before founding UNDERCOVER in 1993. A former frontman of a Sex Pistols cover band, Takahashi’s early love for punk deeply shaped his design sensibility. With Rei Kawakubo as his mentor, he transitioned from Harajuku’s underground scene to the runways of Paris Fashion Week, where he has been showing his collections since 2002.
The USP: We Make Noise, Not Clothes
Undercover makes its mission clear: fashion should provoke. With bold prints, visible seams, integrated text messages, and a constant crossover of streetwear, political messaging, and art, Takahashi challenges conventions. This philosophy is clear in his latest UG project, which features intentionally unfinished seams as a stylistic device – everyday noise dressed in visual contradiction.
Visual and Acoustic Subversion
Music – from punk to industrial to indie – is more than a soundtrack for Takahashi; it is a design universe. His AW25 collection, inspired by Australian band Glass Beams, merges street footage with sharp sonic cues on the runway. Similarly, his women’s collections have drawn on the harsh, metallic sounds of Einstürzende Neubauten as inspiration for sculptural, fetishistic silhouettes.
Artisanal Excellence – The Japanese Soul
Takahashi draws from Japan’s unrivaled tradition of craftsmanship: intricate patchwork pants, complex fabric manipulations, and precise detailing place UNDERCOVER on par with – or even beyond – luxury labels. His designs blend utilitarian ideas with avant-garde forms, embedding political and global themes such as war, identity, and rebellion into his garments.
Artistic Auteur
UNDERCOVER is more than fashion – it’s poetic aesthetics. Takahashi is also an accomplished visual artist, with exhibitions such as Peaceable Kingdom in Hong Kong and his painting series They Can See More Than You Can See in Tokyo. His design process is a hybrid of collaborative fashion work and solitary artistic expression – deeply thoughtful and emotionally resonant.
What Makes Undercover Unique
- Cultural Noise: UNDERCOVER is a statement – fashion that deliberately provokes.
- Musical DNA: Punk, industrial, and experimental sounds shape design and storytelling.
- Japanese Craftsmanship: Obsessive attention to detail on a luxury level.
- Art-Driven Identity: Fashion as art – independent, expressive, and unapologetically personal.