As our exploration of the world of Jun Takahashi draws to a close, it is only right to leave you with the work of another great Japanese designer and their interpretation of Mr. Takahashi.

We present an artwork by Rei Kawakubo, the divine mistress behind the juggernaut that is Comme des Garçons, a woman who paved the way for a revolution in the first wave of Japanese fashion design in the 1980s (alongside Yohji Yamamoto and Issey Miyake).

Rei’s portrait series of Jun Takahashi is darkly graphic – with screen-printed camouflage, pixelation, spliced images, etched-lino effects and heavy contrast creating a collage effect that is beautiful, violent, and covert. In most images Jun’s focus lies elsewhere, his back is turned, he wears dark glasses, or he turns away from the audience to an unseen figure.

The intimacy lies in Rei’s thematic indulgences – the grungy, raw aesthetic and artistic techniques she has employed. The work successfully alludes to, yet does not exemplify, both Comme des Garcons and UNDERCOVER – rather it suggests a more personal artistic dialogue between the artist and her subject.

To Jun Takahashi, Rei Kawakubo and all the extraordinary people who have become a part of the journey of A#4, we thankyou.