Known best for his brand Undercover, Jun Takahashi first began putting out designs for his punk cover band 'Tokyo Sex Pistols' in the early 1990’s. These early offerings included mainly just t-shirts with Sex Pistols-inspired prints, with a few other original designs sprinkled in. After formally starting Undercover in 1993 with with other founders name, the brand began putting on fashion shows rather quickly, first showing in 1994. By the early 2000’s, Undercover was already a force to be reckoned with, and was beginning to gain more appreciation outside of Japan. In the following decade, Undercover would fully explode onto the global stage, with collections like SS2003 'SCAB' and AW04 'But Beautiful', and cement both Undercover’s and Takahashi’s legacy in the world of fashion.

In 2001 with Undercover on the precipse of global recognition, Takahashi sat down for a interview that would be published along with a lookbook from the AW2001 collection 'D.A.V.F.'. With questions ranging from Takahashi’s view Japanese fashion magazines, to the more conventional design-oriented questions, every answer sheds insight into who Takahashi is as both a designer and an individual. In addition to political talking points, the interview went into topics such as why Jun Takahashi was showing womenswear shows exclusively, why fake jewelry was used in 'D.A.V.F', the difference between men’s and women’s fashion, and much more. 

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Writer: Isaac L. Davis