Simply titled “T,” the infamous Spring/Summer 2006 collection saw Takahashi creating his own “band merchandise”, drawing from progressive German rock of the 60s and 70s. He invented five fictitious rock bands for this collection, each having their own set of t-shirts and jacket sleeves emblazoned with seemingly iconic names like “CHUUUT!” and “The Sssss.” To take things a step further, he even created music and identities for these bands under the “Undercover Records” umbrella, giving them life and breath that made us yearn for the real thing. Takahashi has done something astounding in the process of creating these non-existent musical troupes. The inclusion of these band logos on button-up flannels, denim, and leather jackets would become a hallmark of the collection, instantly making it one of the brand’s most beloved releases to date. When we examine the visceral nature of Undercover’s take on subculture, we start to notice the true role of Spring/Summer 2006’s fiction in the original narrative of the brand. The point of this collection is not about the bands themselves, but the spirit they represent. What truly matters in Undercover’s multiverse is the feeling of “punk” it conveys. As noted in the Vogue review of the women’s collection, Takahashi is riffing on the possibilities of the simple rock band T-shirt—reworking it into vastly different garments and silhouettes. The literal nature of the text is to harken back to what could be a teenager’s tour tees, but the reality of the text provides both an abstract take on nostalgia (for bands that don’t exist) and a reminder of the punk aesthetic. For example, Takahashi could have made a dress out of a plain black T-shirt if the objective was simply to create complex garments out of unconventional materials. By using a (fictional) rock T-shirt—as noted by the text on the tee—it reminds viewers of an innate quality of punk: taking a simple concept and reincarnating it into something greater or more compelling.

A significant portion of Jun Takahashi’s youth was spent in small clubs listening to alternative music. Extracting references from times gone past, Undercover has become a collage of the designer’s musical tastes. With that being said, The Jesus and Mary Chain’s Scottish roots weren’t too far from the sights of Takahashi’s fanaticism during the 80s. After the release of their critically-acclaimed debut album “Psychocandy” in 1985, the Undercover founder was hooked on the lyrics and imagery that came with it. Quite a while after, 2014 saw the release of a menswear collection titled “GODOG,” featuring color-voided leather jackets and tees emblazoned with lyrics like “the wind is screaming around the trees for my psychocandy.” Takahashi’s ability to tastefully immortalize The Jesus and Mary Chain through these garments is something to admire, because it speaks to a deeper sense of longing for the past, as well as a present-day control and temperament that allows Undercover to pay homage to the music respectfully and effectively. Taking things a step further, Takahashi also created a line of edible candy a few seasons later—aptly named after the title of the collection.

Many designers like Hedi Slimane and Marc Jacobs have used their creative direction to pay tribute to some of the music they grew up loving dearly. We can expect no less from someone like Takahashi, who continuously utilizes the vastness of Undercover’s universe to twist and mold his inspirations into beautiful displays of craftsmanship and prudence. Shifting into the depths of New York’s underground, Spring/Summer 2015’s “Adventure” is an example of Takahashi’s teenhood running amok. TELEVISION’s exceptionally-made albums “Marquee Moon” and “Adventure” served as the focal points of this collection, providing Takahashi with dark and reverberating graphics that would be found on almost every garment in this collection. Elegantly simplistic jackets and sweaters would have patches and sleeves adorned with the band’s titles and artwork, pushing them over the edge as curated antiques, as opposed to simple garments.

An example of this can be seen in the denim, which features sectioned accordion-like distressing that is embroidered with TELEVISION's cover art. Again, like with Takahashi’s interest in The Jesus and Mary Chain, these textual references are more than just album names. They nod to Takahashi’s personal inspirations, while challenging the viewer to recontextualize the word both within and without its relation to the musicians. TELEVISION was a proto-punk rock band founded in the haze of 1970s New York. What that band symbolizes (and the names it chose for its albums, for example) boast different weight and meanings that have evolved over time. What something like “Adventure” meant to the original listeners in the 70s would differ from Takahashi’s interpretation in the 80s. This mentality carries into today. The concept of what “punk” is has varied across decades, and this collection gives 21st century spectators a chance to view the older graphics and text; the source material may be the same, but placed within an Undercover collection over 30 years later, the text can carry new meaning.

“Ambivalence” and “Melting Pot” denote duality, amalgamation and contrast; colliding opposing ideologies and feelings into a single entity as a means of creating something unseen before. When Jun used these words to respectively title his 1999 and 2000 Fall/Winter collections, we quickly understood the contrasting themes of discord and harmony he embraces time and time again. As a whole, Undercover was and still is the embodiment of juxtaposition. Situated comfortably between the clashing worlds of punk anarchism and refined high fashion, it can be likened heavily to the underlying themes in one of George Lucas’ most acclaimed works. Of course, Takahashi drew from the powerful imagery of Star Wars; the original film releases were naturally a huge part of his youth in the late 1970s. Even if for this reason alone, the film series makes sense as a key inspiration behind 2000’s “Melting Pot” menswear. Years ahead of its time as a science fiction breakthrough, Star Wars became a classic for many due to its exceptional cinematography, costume design, and storytelling. Aesthetically it operates as much as a symbol of the duality that is “retro-futurism” as it does a battle between two opposing sides (the “good” Rebel Alliance and the “bad” Galactic Empire). Naturally, one side is morally superior to the other, but the film’s story dissects the...well, ambivalence—between Luke’s singular, moral choice—fighting for good, while grappling with the idea of following his father’s footsteps towards the Dark Side of the Force.

Takahashi would revisit this specific source of inspiration in “The Greatest”—a collection of re-releases and special items that honored some of his most raved-about shows—during Spring/Summer 2016 collection. This new collection introduced even more Star Wars-themed exclusives to commemorate the 25th anniversary of Undercover and revamping of the iconic sci-fi franchise.Takahashi channeled the spirit of the polarizing Jedi and Sith seen in his past works when he developed garments for this collection, decorating t-shirts, denim, and outerwear with galactic motifs. We saw simple technical silhouettes bearing striking white letters on black backdrops, alongside contrasting, colorful branding that gave this release a nostalgic feel. Key pieces, like an “Ambivalence”-inspired reversible jacket emblazoned with the words “Jedi” and “Sith” do more than call out the opposing sides of the Star Wars universe; it’s a garment that reflects the indecision the wearer is afforded when donning a reversible jacket. Honoring the heavy usage of Star Wars-esque prints in “Melting Pot” and the construction seen in “Ambivalence,” we come across a modernization of past inspirations, giving life to the franchise once more. Just in time too—with Star Wars: The Force Awakens hitting theaters in December of 2015 (“The Greatest” collection was showcased in June, 2015), it was the perfect backdrop to honor one of the biggest inspirations in Takahashi’s “Melting Pot”.

Undercover’s Spring/Summer 2018 menswear presentation revisited some of the brand’s earlier works, beckoning to some of Takahashi’s acclaimed archival pieces—with Spring/Summer 2006 being the first collection to come to mind when looking at his newest offerings. This latest collection was a bit more forward in comparison, to say the least. While continuing to draw on elements of Takahashi’s lifelong obsessions, we still see the consistent manipulating of what “punk” inherently is. For 2018, Takahashi aimed to create merchandise for our grandchildrens’ favorite bands, subsequently developing this narrative through his choice of models and styling. Frayed hems and distressed patches are in abundance this time around, juxtaposing the narrow silhouettes and slim-fitting bottoms. The heavy use of unfamiliar printing styles and futuristic graphics helped us peer into the everlasting imprint of rock, and how—through its hypothetical journey over the decades—its rebellious core remains. This collection can be thought of as another addition to Undercover’s ever-expanding universe of punk-deconstruction, acting as an extension of Takahashi’s core design principles. As Takahashi reinvents and reincarnates the punk rock of the past in previous collections, the Spring/Summer 2018 collection begs viewers to wonder what punk (and in some ways, the punk spirit that Takahashi has continued on via his clothing) will look like—in the future.

The copious amount of detail that went into these ideas and the lengths to which Takahashi will go to materialize them are what make words a cornerstone of Undercover’s identity. Having the power to use languages and imagery in a way that transports each garment to that specific era of rock or film seamlessly is something to marvel at. Takahashi’s tasteful direction allows us to partake in the impact of his influences, as he communicates their importance through his curation of nostalgia and longing. In that sense, the language might not be the words and imprints we see on Takahashi’s works time and time again, but rather the feeling these works evoke within us. For Takahashi, his “punk rock lyrics” are the words that translate—not in song—but through the clothing on the runway.

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