Jun Takahashi and Wataru Take Us Behind The Scenes of Undercover

If you’ve ever been behind the scenes of a fashion show, then you’ll know the phrase, ‘calm before the storm’ doesn’t apply. Rather, it’s the storm before the calm as designers, make-up artists, and stylists scramble backstage to get models ready to walk the runway. It's the magic-making chaos leading up to Undercover's S/S 16, A/W 16, and S/S 17 shows that's being documented in the Japanese streetwear brand's latest photography book, RECORD. 2016-2017.

Founder and creative director Jun Takahashi has teamed up with Paris-based photographer and friend Wataru to curate his third photo book documenting Undercover’s runway shows. ‘I can be my authentic self when a photographer is a friend of mine. Meaning we can make a documentary without being artificial’, Takahashi tells SHOWstudio about the creative partnership. The book follows 2017’s Chaos/Balance by Taro Mizutani which covered Undercover's shows from 2013 to 2015.

‘There are many memories for each season and looking back on them is profoundly moving’, Takahashi tells us. ‘One of the most impressive memories is making many Bill Evans appear as the finale of the show ‘Portrait in Jazz’ (S/S 17). When many models dressed as Bill Evans and gathered after rehearsal it was such an adorable and odd scene’.

While it was the last season in the book that Takahashi cites as his favourite, for photographer Wataru nothing beats the first. ‘The first season was most memorable for me, though I think that is because the theme of the collection was also my preference’, he tells us. Undercover’s S/S 16 womenswear collection looked to courtly dress and clown couture with ruffled collars, tight curls, and Pierrot face paint. Appropriately held at the Cirque d’Hiver in Paris, Wataru expertly captures the playfulness and irreverence at the heart of Takahashi’s designs.

For Wataru, the book was also an opportunity to celebrate the legacy of the legendary Japanese hair, make-up artist and milliner Katsuya Kamo who died in 2020. ‘There were many emotions. I stayed relaxed but was serious at the same time, so I wouldn’t miss capturing the moments of the creation of Jun and Kamo-kun’, Wataru explains. While Kamo was the visionary behind some of Haider Ackermann’s, Junya Watanabe's, and Kiko Kostadinov’s most memorable hair moments, his nearly three-decade creative partnership with Takahashi made his work synonymous with Undercover. ‘He was an old friend who I’ve long respected’, says Wataru.

To accompany the book’s release a capsule collection of photo tees has also been released. Featuring images from the books selected by Takahashi, the exclusive designs can be purchased as part of a package. A must-have for every Undercover fanatic.

RECORD. 2016-2017. is now available online and at Undercover stores worldwide.