Undercover / Undercoverism

[laika]

don't shoot me, but did anyone check out the UU collection? what do you think? i found it to be SO underwhelming, and by that i mean it was mostly crap. men's stuff is slightly better, but really not much.

the kids stuff has been far and away the highlight in both collections and I think it's really adorable.

The rest is at best an improvement on what are usually very bland uniqlo staples; and at worst, ill-fitting renditions of undercover staples. at any rate, i guess no one was very pleased with it, because the collaboration is over.

I have to say I'm amazed at the complete lack of publicity, relative even to other uniqlo collabs (which are pretty low key to begin with)...

[lowrey]

Agree with Laika. handled a majority of it, most felt cheap and looked uninteresting. totally underwhelming, as expected. Jun really shot himself in the foot, he could've either done something interesting or not do it at all. Then again "interesting" is perhaps and overstatement when it comes to anything produced by a company like uniqlo.

[Faust]

Poor Jun :(

[laika]

agreed. I did think he chose lovely colors (as usual) but, for the most part, the cheapness of the fabrics really undermined any little details that would have made the pieces special.

on the bright side, and speaking of color, I've been loving these little documentaries around the fall collection...a nice continuation of the quotidian theme he's been exploring.

go here to watch: http://www.undercoverism.com/psychocolor/

[swims]

the question i have on my mind now, is what next for undercover?

i know UU was created with the idea of making well designed clothes more accesible, but i'm certain it was all about money. now that it's proven to have been a flop, can Jun simply carry on with season after season aiming to create something entirely new each time? perhaps his strive for something so different for each collection will be his demise.

with things not looking so good financially for UC from afar, things don't seem to be looking good for the label. to be honest, it baffles me as to who is buying new season undercover at retail.

[Faust]

That is a good question. I'd imagine he will continue to do what he does, just on a smaller scale.

I am thinking that UU wasn't just about money, but more to get the name out.

[stadsvandringar]

Took a look at the current collection in Japan. Selection was surprisingly small and mainly just t-shirts. There were maybe a couple of pairs of pants and a handful of shirts and jackets. I hate to say it because I really like what Jun has done in the past, but the future for undercover really is not looking good.

[Faust]

And the future of the search on Yahoo Japan auctions for Undercover looks even worse.

[garbage_queen]

Undercover Store Tokyo

[kingsolomon]

Undercover Store Tokyo
Please do not repost photos on the same page

I saw this when I was in Tokyo. Freaked me out at first, then I thought about the effort required to cut out all those eyes. Either way, I was really impressed by it; didn't even realise it was Undercover at first.

[Ahimsa]

Undercover S/S 2014 Men's. More at SZ-Mag.

[i-d-g]

can anyone id the season that this was made?

[Faust]

Undercover by StyleZeitgeist Magazine

Waiting for Godot

[Faust]

Here is a three-part video I recorded in 2009 at Pitti Uomo in Florence, of Jun Takahashi making the Gila doll, with live music by Atsuhiro Ito.

[Faust]

And, related to the above, I unearthed my long profile on Jun Takahashi. Enjoy.

http://www.haaretz.com/weekend/magaz...r-man-1.296567