Who Is Jun Takahashi? A Reference
Jun Takahashi is the designer behind Undercover, the Ura-Harajuku label that first showed in Paris in October 2002 and that in 2026 became the subject of one of the scene’s most reported business stories. This reference sets out the dated record.
This page belongs to the Reference Shelf of The Fashionista Bible. Dates are checked against published accounts, and where accounts disagree the page says so.
Before the label
Takahashi was born on 21 September 1969 in Kiryū, Gunma, the silk-weaving town that also stitched much of Japan’s embroidered souvenir clothing. He enrolled in fashion education at Bunka Fashion College in 1988, and in his free time sang in a cover band, the Tokyo Sex Pistols.
The dated record
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1993. With Nigo he launches Nowhere, the Ura-Harajuku shop, and, according to Wikipedia, the label Undercover in the same year. Our own record notes that accounts give 1990, 1993 or 1994 for the label.
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1994 to 1995. Participates in Tokyo Fashion Week; our record dates the first Undercover show to autumn/winter 1994.
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1997. New Face Prize, Mainichi Fashion Grand Prize.
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1998. Colette in Paris presents his Exchange collection.
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2001. Grand Prize, Mainichi Fashion Grand Prize.
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October 2002. Paris Fashion Week debut, for spring/summer 2003.
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2011. The UNIQLO UNDERCOVER collaboration begins.
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2013. A second Mainichi Fashion Grand Prize.
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2021. Artwork and an animated music video for a remix of Radiohead’s “Creep”, which Thom Yorke contributed to one of his shows.
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2026. Human Made, the company of his old Nowhere partner Nigo, announces a non-binding agreement in June and signs a definitive share-transfer agreement in September for all of Undercover’s voting shares. Takahashi is to step back from daily management and remain head designer; completion is planned for February 2027. The price is reported as about 538.8 million yen, while a cited headline says 554 million.
Takahashi’s activewear line with Nike, Gyakusou, is part of the record too, but the account we follow gives no year for it.
How to read him
The portal reads the label through punk romanticism and emotional design. The fuller essay is Beautiful Disorder: Jun Takahashi and the Romance of Undercover. For the founders who set the stage, see Modern Avant-Garde Brands and Designers.
Thesis Discussion
Takahashi is the thesis’s case for join. Nowhere put him beside Nigo before either was known; Uniqlo, Nike and Paris each extended the label into a different public; and in 2026 the circle appears to close. A business that began as two friends sharing a counter would, if the agreement completes, return as one friend’s company holding the other’s. That is not an accident of finance. It is what a scene looks like when it keeps itself.
His work also shows edit. Punk, rock and craft references are not invented here; they are chosen and recut until the choosing is the style. See The Japonista Thesis.
Related Articles
In the Archive
UNDERCOVER · NIGO · BAPE (A Bathing Ape) · HUMAN MADE · Goodenough · SACAI
Read on: Encyclopedia: Undercover · BAPE · Ura-Harajuku · Avant-garde designers · directory of Japanese fashion designers · collector guides
The Hunting Salon™
If you are looking for archive Undercover, such as early seasons or runway pieces with their original tags, season accuracy is part of the search. The Hunting Salon™ can assist discreetly with search, verification and shipping.
Frequently Asked Questions
When was Undercover founded?
Accounts say 1990, 1993 or 1994. Wikipedia says 1993.
When did Undercover first show in Paris?
October 2002, for spring/summer 2003.
Is Undercover being sold?
Reports say Human Made signed a definitive agreement in September 2026 for all voting shares, with completion planned for February 2027. Check a current source.
What is Gyakusou?
Takahashi’s activewear line with Nike. The account we follow gives no year.
Notes on Dates
The founding year of Undercover is 1990, 1993 or 1994 in different accounts. The 2026 acquisition figure is given as about 538.8 million yen in one place and 554 million in a cited headline, and the agreement was not complete at the time of writing.
This volume belongs to the Japonista Universe, Volume VII. The argument behind it is set out in The Japonista Thesis.
Index terms: jun takahashi · who is jun takahashi · undercover founder · undercover paris 2002 · nowhere 1993 · gyakusou · uniqlo undercover · human made undercover acquisition · mainichi fashion grand prize · kiryu
