Undercover clothing brand8/6/2023 Jun Takahashi established this Japanese streetwear brand of Undercover during the beginning of the 1990s. Founded in Tokyo during the 1960s by Rei Kawakubo, the brand a has since grown into an international icon, with a global reach that has expanded into places like France, the U.K., Germany, and the United States. With the ever-familiar iconic heart symbol, COMME des GARÇONS has become a staple in fashion. The brand is known for its unique garments, crafted by blending diverse materials, colors, and forms. In the late 1990s, Chitose Abe established a high-end streetwear label that frequently merges the boundaries between informal and elegant clothing. Founded in 1993 by Nigo (Tomoaki Nagao), BAPE is considered as one of the pioneers of the Japanese streetwear movement, becoming a global phenomenon, often seeing sported by the top echelon of celebrities, rappers, and artists. Beginning during the 1980s and 1990s, when some of Japan’s most iconic fashion companies were established, nowadays, the urban fashion scene is rapidly evolving, and Japanese brands have become some of the most sought-after in the world.įor the longest, A Bathing Ape, or BAPE for short, has been an icon in the fashion industry, particularly in streetwear and in hip-hop culture. The eye-catching and trendsetting fashion styles of Japanese streetwear have long been unrivalled in the fashion world. With influences ranging from American cultures of hip-hop, punk rock, skateboarders, or vintage Americana to more native inspirations, like anime, magna, or traditional Japanese fashion, alongside international trends, Japan’s streetwear clothing is a perfect combination of global ideas to form some of the world’s best artistic creations. This moment marked the beginning of luxury fashion streetwear.Japanese Streetwear Brands Top Japanese Streetwear Fashion Brandsįor many years, Japanese streetwear brands such as Evisu and A Bathing Ape have had a major impact on hip-hop and urban cultures. In due course, Takahashi put on his famous ‘Scab’ show for Paris Fashion Week SS03 and, henceforth, the Western world became obsessed with the brand and the designer. In a full-circle moment, Comme des Garçons founder Rei Kawakubo was one of the first purchasers, which quickly led to a friendship between the two designers.Īfter eight years, Kawakubo had told just about everyone in the fashion scene about UNDERCOVER (she really was, and still is his biggest fan) and finally persuaded Takahashi to flaunt his designs outside of Tokyo he decided Paris was the fashion destination he resonated with the most. The looks were a huge upgrade to the designer’s previous collections in every way: he took streetwear to high-fashion levels by using unexpected cuts, forward-thinking prints and manifestly luxe fabrics. As one can imagine, the two were already well connected within the Ura-Harajuku area, so it didn’t take long for the store to become one of the city’s most influential fashion hubs.Ī year after setting up Nowhere, Takahashi put on his first womenswear runway show at The Garage in Daikanyama for Tokyo Fashion Week. Named Nowhere, Takahashi launched the store alongside his school friend Nigo (as in Nigo the DJ, record producer and founder of Bape and Human Made). This led to the designer dreaming of his own retail space and subsequently setting up a store, circa 1993. Initially, Takahashi’s collections largely consisted of customised pieces created from vintage finds before he knew it, prominent Japanese stores such as Billy’s in Tokyo began to stock his collections. From inception, UNDERCOVER collections have been informed by rebellion, which explains the label’s ‘We Make Noise, Not Clothes’ slogan and the gothic undertones of the aesthetic. (Productive, we know.) The designer combined his interests and influences with avant-garde notions that were circling in the industry at the time to create a brand-new look. In 1988, Takahashi graduated from Bunka Fashion College in Tokyo, and just two years later, he founded UNDERCOVER. Interestingly enough, Takahashi only started to pay attention to Kawakubo after being dragged by a friend to a Comme des Garçons show. To be specific, he did this by joining punk rock tribute band the Tokyo Sex Pistols as lead vocalist adopting the nickname ‘Jonio’ to pay respects to one of his heroes, Johnny Rotten tattooing his arms up (which, FYI is an act that’s frowned upon in Japan) and, showing dedicated admiration for the work of punk designers such as Vivienne Westwood and Rei Kawakubo. Born in the historic Japanese city of Kiryū in 1969, the streetwear designer deviated from the traditions of his culture by immersing himself in the global punk movement. At heart, Jun Takahashi – founder of UNDERCOVER – is a punk.
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