Undercover. Spring 202 RTW - Paris Fashion Week.

(Images from the designer and the public domain. Credited to the 

photographer/company where applicable: UNDERCOVER )

For Spring 2020, Paris seems to be embracing its Avant Garde roots, previous fashions weeks from New York to London and Milan, have reinstated the cleaner more defined looks, that is seen as modernist cues.  Touching upon some aspects of extravagance and/or social commentary.  For the most part, a fairly muted affair.  

Undercover is one of those fashion brands that if you blink you'd miss it, very uniquely created styles from Jun Takahashi, a label he founded in 1993.  Although Takahashi is no overnight sensation.  He has been showing at Paris since 2002.   Like fellow countryman from Japan, Takahashi has been able to run the collaboration plays with the larger sportswear companies such as Nike and the Japanese fast fashion chain Uniqlo.  His latest coproduced collection was with Valentino, in creating a street wear styles for their Fall/Winter 2019 collection.   

The Japanese are able to, in such a unique way, imprint their own take on imported concepts. They have been doing this since the 8th Century.  Reworking ideas and visual mediums from philosophy, religion to art, music and fashion.  What is admirable about this ability, it is done quick, but not rushed.  Rarely pondered, so the Japanese creative doesn't procrastinate.  He or she, works it hard without delay.  For Takahashi's Spring 2020 collection, Japanese ambiguity is written all over this, so it could get lost in translation.  But, the cuts and fits of his latest array are so impressive.  There is a fusion of 20th Century modernism, yet re-cut and repacked into a parallel wold of avant garde creed that only a Japanese designer could muster (or master). There is a bizarre, yet familiar overture here, Takahashi plays with the 70's, 80's and 90's and somehow fuses it into a unique take of those past trends.  

The Spring 2020 look-book presentation is striking, dulling the background into monochrome prints whist the colors of the styles and models are exaggerated.  Wool, silk blends and Jacquard styles, whilst the color palette is orientated towards the pastel.  There is enough pop-culture fusion here to have the viewer ponder, although just briefly, in trying to unravel the riddle of its designs and presentation.