Undercover Pre-Fall 2023 Menswear Collection

Apart from one great pandemic-eve show that blended pre-fall and men’s mainline, Undercover pre-collections tend to remain relatively undercover. This season however Jun Takahashi delivered two servings of pre-, each differently gendered and each differently shot. The result was sort of Undercover comfort food: very recognizably Takahashi-esque in its graphic touches and countercultural melange while also very inhabitable.

Possibly parsable in the menswear was a vague sense of geopolitical tension via the EU-esque I Don’t Care tee when placed against the script and textile detailing apparently drawn from south of the Mediterranean, but that might just be reaching. Frayed knits, jersey hardened by D-ring or fashioned from oblique sections, zipper-shaped reconstructed riffs on industrial workwear, and a deeply appealing section-stitched bomber were among the highlights of an offer that came lightly spiced with grunge, mod, and more contemporary flavors.

The occasional frayed knit and a graphic tees apart—these featuring some reissues from seasons past—there was little apparent intersection between the menswear and womenswear. For some weird reason—possibly the West Ham-ish claret and blue in look 9—it generated a dubious Proustian flashback to Rodolfo Paglialunga’s debut show for Jil Sander. The Undercover pre-woman was generally (but not exclusively) more conventionally ‘formal’ than her masculine counterpart, but unconventionally so. Soft-shouldered tailored outerwear both long and short came embedded with Takahashi signature DE razor blades insinuated into the collar or cuff. A razorblade collar shirt was worn above a finely tailored palazzo pant. Unicorn-abducting flying saucer knits—reminiscent of Undercover’s Valentino collaboration—flew above more tailored trousers and full skirts. Bib shirts, loosely assembled retro workwear staples, irregular-hem pleated skirts, two integrated jacket knits, and even a pared down, big-panted Chanel-flavored and pastel-tinted version of le smoking were further elements. Takahashi’s earmuff game was strong.