March 5, 2025 |
Jun Takahashi wasn’t just throwing a 35th-anniversary party – he was designing for it too. Undercover’s AW25 collection was a trip down memory lane, but with a twist: 2004’s But Beautiful… Part Parasitic Part Stuffed collection got a 2025 remix, where Patti Smith’s undone cool collided with the surreal plushwork of Anne-Valerie Dupond who contributed to the range. Think poetry in motion – if that poetry were stitched into 51 looks.
But the party had only just begun. Embellishment wasn’t an afterthought – it was the dress code. And this wasn’t the kind of camouflage that helped you disappear; it was the kind that ensured you stood out. Bijouterie, buttons and beads spilled over sweatshirts like confetti and bomber jackets bristled with keepsakes – military medals, lucky charms… the kind of trinkets collected over time. Champion sweats met floral stilettos because why not? Models turned partygoers – sometimes colliding, sometimes lost in thought – mirrored the collection’s contained chaos, sporting spiky headbands. At one point, a metallic blue cardigan dazzled into view – proof that this was an Undercover birthday, and that was when the real fun started.
The collection swung between toughness and tenderness as Takahashi rewired his past through a sharper, more knowing lens. At 35, he had built a world of wearable oddities. At 55, he tempered the chaos, making it all feel more lived-in, more effortless – but never, ever safe. Undercover didn’t just do nostalgia. It reinvented it. And after 35 years, Takahashi reminded us that the best parties don’t just look back – they celebrate in style.
Photograph courtesy of Undercover.
