UNDERCOVER
Designer:Jun Takahashi
Viewing Tokyo-techno streetwear marching around a sumptuous ornamental classical lake was just the beginning of a gently unreal night devised by Jun Takahashi in Florence's Renaissance Boboli Gardens. Takahashi had brought his Undercover crew to these unlikely surroundings at the invitation of Pitti Uomo, and he seemed to be relishing his first excursion into presenting a menswear-only collection. Before the show, he ducked outside the changing tent to explain the rationale: This was clothing inspired by the reductive principles of industrial product designer Dieter Rams, whose dictum "Less, but better" was appropriated as the collection's title. "I'm a collector of his Braun products," Takahashi said, "I met him at the end of last month when he was in Tokyo for his retrospective. He came to my studio and looked through my sketchbook and said he liked it. What I do is casual daily clothes, not too much fashion, but with hidden functionalism in an Undercover way. What we perceived from Rams is the simple but beautiful touch that exists after discarding unnecessity." So, is this a new minimalism redux? He nodded: "Skinny for the mind."
The Rams references were evident—if only to an alerted eye—in the orange "on-off" buttons, perforated patch formations in nylon anoraks, and dial-like appliqués on jackets (all nods to Rams' components for hi-fi products, calculators, and shavers). The Undercover silhouette is a combination of big over-pieces, knit leggings with articulated split knees, and loose jersey shorts, delivered with invisible high-spec utility to combat modern climatic situations. (This is something Takahashi has been consistently working on in his womenswear for several seasons, and the clothes he showed here incorporated Coolmax sport performance fiber and thin waterproof fabric for summer rainy seasons.) Once the audience had noted all this—as well as the semitransparent plastic laptop cases and cool, chunky-strapped sandals and backpacks—they were in for an uphill hike to an elevated lawn overlooking the city. Here, the proceedings took on a more surreal cast as Takahashi demonstrated his "doll-making" on stage while hundreds milled around, lay on the grass, and picnicked among examples of the designer's electric lamp-eyed creatures cobbled together from soft toys and christening dresses.
