A delightful symphony of technical wear, floral designs, original artwork, and deconstructed tailoring, the UNDERCOVER Spring/Summer 2024 collection exudes an air of “darkness, and quiet, beautiful and sweet,” that resounds in the hushed anticipation of the fashion faithful.
Delving deep into the heart of his art-filled showroom, Takahashi captivates his audience with an ode to the romantic. His frequent trips to Paris have imbued his designs with a poetic ambiance, painted in hues of floral prints, and whispers of original art and flocking. Jun Takahashi, garbed in his trademark owlish glasses and a broad-brimmed hat, states, “Fashion should offer hope in the darkness, and make us dream.”
His collaboration with Berlin-based artist Helen Verhoeven introduces an engaging dialogue between fashion and art. Her smudgy, vividly colorful renditions of human figures become the lifeblood of the collection, coursing through the veins of technical outerwear, shorts, T-shirts and even baseball caps.
Contrasting with this, tailoring offered a bare canvas, devoid of flamboyant design, but not character. The plain deconstructed aesthetics are intriguingly punctuated with clusters of garment tags sewn on the outside. Takahashi’s magic touch transforms whisper-light toile fabric into conversation pieces, sealing topcoats and jackets’ seams with narrow strips of transparent tape.
The collection has a distinct do-it-yourself feel, brilliantly exemplified in an olive twill jacket, its playful assortment of red and green buttons an endearing homage to creative freedom. Similarly, boxy jackets appear in textured, floral fabrics reminiscent of carpetbags, tapestries, and flocked wallpaper, weaving a vibrant tapestry of fashion’s past and present.
Continuing on the same path of creative exploration, Takahashi skillfully pieces together a black biker jacket from fragments of leather and jersey, reflecting an artist’s passion for reconstruction and transformation. Hoodies, composed of a patchwork of repurposed T-shirts, further underline this theme.
Interestingly, Takahashi’s choice of tapestry and flocked fabrics are a nod to his womenswear collections, a subtle testament to his belief that the fashion worlds for both genders are drawing ever closer. Despite these influences, Takahashi’s design philosophy remains unwavering, casting a ray of hope amidst the darkness, promising to ignite the spark of sartorial dreams. The UNDERCOVER Spring/Summer 2024 collection truly underscores Jun Takahashi’s understanding of fashion as not just an industry, but an ever-evolving artistic narrative.
© Photos: UNDERCOVER
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