Jun Takahashi has always been known as an innovative designer who loves referencing history, culture, and his own personal life in his works. This particular 2011 season is yet another example of this endeavor, as depicted in the 2011 'UNDERMAN' Photo Book. The SS2011 Undercover collection titled 'UNDERMAN' features a fictional hero in the year 20XX who restores lost souls incapacitated by the forces of evil. With the story and costume design by Takahashi and photography by Katsuhide Morimoto, Underman was Takahashi's portrayal of Japanese superheroes through fashion. Besides the extensive clothing collection, Takahashi also created a lookbook using a booklet binder of trading cards and a set of miniature figurines in collaboration with Medicom Toy.

Once again, Takahashi stays one step ahead of the fashion trends through his own personal scope. The creation of Underman for Undercover's SS2011 collection is a homage to Japanese superhero comics and television shows, such as Kamen Rider. The photo book consists of 36 images storytelling the journey of Underman and his encounters with the lost souls and several enemies, such as Pyranoid and Mashra. The book essentially forces Undercover’s audience to be temporarily removed from the consumption of fashion while beginning a new task: reading a comic book strip by Jun Takahashi and his team. It is experiences like these that cement Undercover's legacy as a pioneer in modern day fashion history.

SS2011 is yet another in-depth case study of Jun Takahashi’s vivid imagination outside of fashion design. Although his brand and his legacy is known for the fusion of punk, streetwear, and high-fashion, Takahashi often explores other mediums of creative expression and storytelling. Underman’s backstory, awakening, villains, and success defines the journey of Jun Takahashi and Undercover. Underman brings back souls back to the soulless and radiant light back to the darkness, similar to what Takahashi brings to the fashion world with Undercover. 

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Writer: Art V.