Undercover Transforms The Toyota Aygo X
Japanese designer Jun Takahashi is no stranger to collaborating. The founder and creative director of cult label Undercover has teamed up with everyone from Levi’s to Valentino. And while he’s proven at playing well with fellow sartorial heavy-hitters, his latest collaboration see’s the iconoclast venture into completely new territory. From his atelier to the garage, Takahashi has partnered up with automotive titan Toyota to give it’s Aygo X model an Undercover makeover.
The unprecedented cross-industry collaboration premiered as part of Undercover’s A/W 23 show at Paris Fashion Week. Known for his subversive take on Japanese streetwear, Takahashi transformed the Aygo X with his distinct references to both punk and couture. The model, limited to 5,000 cars, comes in an exclusive bi-tone great body with coral red accents. The interior is branded with the Undercover logo and monogram. Stamped on the roof is the brand’s motto ‘CHAOS/BALANCE’ in bold typeface. Consider it Takahashi’s seal of approval.
‘It was my first experience working on a car, and with Toyota being such a prestigious and innovative Japanese brand, it came with deep emotional meaning and significance,’ explains Takahashi. ‘Fusing together two contradicting elements, or worlds, is exciting for me and both the materials and how we applied the colours differ completely from clothing collaborations.’
With culture clashing in mind, the campaign is set in the fictional city of Paris, Tokyo. Merging both of cities that Takahashi has made home, the city combines Harajuku street culture with the contemporary savour faire of Le Marais. Traipsing around the imagined metropolis is a cast of unexpected influencers, including experimental musician Lu, emerging model Ali Honcharuk who previously walked Undercover’s S/S 23 show, and London-based poet, activist, and SHOWstudio contributor Wilson Oryema.
‘We knew that Undercover could further expand the strong character of the Aygo X and were excited to explore how Jun’s fashion language could be translated into the car development process,' says Toyota Europe's head of styling design Tadao Mori. 'Fashion design and car design share a lot in common but Jun introduced us to completely new ways of looking at colour, and ideas for how to make more of everyday details to create something more interesting and unexpected.'