A BLOG curated by

THE EARLY DAYS #4: UNDERCOVER

For the fourth installment of The Early Days, we present the first show of Jun Takahashi’s UNDERCOVER in Paris, held in October 2002. As Jun’s very first time showing in Paris, the event was an exciting and experimental experience for the whole UNDERCOVER team, flying across the world to showcase their efforts on an international level. Paris was a whole new ballgame, far removed from the smaller Tokyo scene, where they had been working since 1995.

Jun was certainly not without support in Paris, with his wife Riko and young ones along for the ride, as well as his staff, hair artist Katsuya Kamo, and photographer Yoshie Tominaga (who captured the images here). Takahashi’s seven-month-old daughter La-La even featured on the show’s soundtrack, her little voice carrying over the jangly rock-n-roll soundtrack.

For the show invitation, Jun asked Yoshie to photograph a woman’s knees decorated with fake scab makeup, to correspond to the theme that would be the show’s title, “SCAB”. The clothes themselves translated this as a fanciful punk patchwork, influenced by streetwear and historical costume with military cargo details and intricate frayed panelling on denim. Light fabrics were ripped and threaded around arms like skeletons of sleeves, flowing as wooden-beaded capes or even floor-length transparent burqa veils trimmed with coins and bells. Studs embellished slouchy cream boots, and Katsuya Kamo lay delicate ropes of pearls across the models faces – plaited into their hair like precious, spidery curtains.

As a Paris debut “SCAB” was a great success, garnering newsprint for its unique brand of Tokyo punk style, rendered with such precision for a cosmopolitan global audience – who came unprepared for the aggressive new boy in town. There is nothing like a grand entrance, and “SCAB” provided this in true UNDERCOVER style – with bells on every seat, to welcome in the revolution.