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NDERCOVER by Jun Takashi and TAKAHIRO MIYASHITA of The Soloist presented their Fall/Winter 2018-19 menswear collection in Florence’s Stazione Leopolda on 11th January. Lapp Cianchi, communications and event director of Pitti Immagine said that UNDERCOVER was back in Florence after almost nine years along with TAKAHIRO MIYASHITA of The Soloist. These two designers, who also happened to share a great companionship, will orchestrate back-to-back shows for the first ever time. It’s meritorious how these shows not only will showcase their masterpieces but an admirable friendship and respect for one another’s work. Pitti Uomo has been reckoned to be Jun Takashi’s only stage for menswear shows. He has been the lead of the new-fashion groundbreaking for about twenty five years as Pitti Uomo have had held all previous fashion shows of Miyashita for his first label, Number (N)ine. Furthermore, this was TAKAHIRO MIYASHITA of The Soloist’s first show outside of Japan.
Behind the ‘UNDERCOVER’ is a man Jun Takashi
He was born on September 1969 in Kiryu Japan. Takahashi attended Tokyo’s Bunka Fashion College to pursue his fashion education. In 1990, he started UNDERCOVER with a friend at BUNKA. They along with Nigo of A Bathing Ape launched an iconic store “Nowhere” in Tokyo’s Harajuku district known for its probationary fashion. UNDERCOVER’S originator instigated the melding of street wear and fashion design, as an impact of youth culture. He held his first fashion show in 1994 for womenswear in Japan Fashion Week in Tokyo. In 2002, he presented his first Paris women’s show. In 2009, he was invited to PITTI UOMO 76 for his ’10 SS Men’s collection and also held the first men’s only runway show. Takahashi became the first fashion designer to collaborate with Nike on a multi-seasonal basis with his GYAKUSOU line of running gear in 2010. 2013 is the year when he launched his new lines "JohnUNDERCOVER" (men‘s) and "SueUNDERCOVER" (women‘s). UNDERCOVER celebrated its 25th anniversary with a major ex post facto museum exhibit in Tokyo. Today he is prominently regarded as one of the most fertile designers.
The Soloist: Takahiro Miyashita
Takahiro Miyashita was born in Tokyo in 1973. The Soloist’s Miyashita never got any erudite fashion pedagogy yet she started designing by putting hard efforts assembling clothes during his teenage. He also worked as a designer for Tokyo’s popular store Nepenthes in Harajuku after which he launched his first line, Number (N)ine in 1996. In 2003, he started showing his menswear in Paris. He got influenced by American youth culture such as rock music ranging from the Beatles to Nirvana, Nine Inh Nails and the films of Gus Van Sant, that he showcased in his designs as well. After leaving Number (N)ine in 2009, Miyashita launched TAKAHIROMIYASHITATheSoloist in 2010. The brand’s name was emblematic of his determination and yearning to be a true inspirer of his work.
