It’s been a while since the Sex Pistols were actively advertising outfits made by Vivienne Westwood and Malcom McLaren for a certain boutique on King’s Road. Punk was always mostly equivalent with “Do It Yourself”, it was fashionable because it didn’t try to be, or rather, it tried not to be à la mode. When Punk started to spread, all of a sudden you could buy a shirt from The Clash on every corner. It might not have been the right font, or maybe someone put the picture of the wrong band under the name, but that’s the kind of stuff that happens when everybody scrambles to cash in on a movement. Now it seems that with Siouxsie Sioux being hailed as a style icon, that Punk and Post-Punk Fashion are very much intergrated into the mainstream.
I’m left with mixed feelings when I look at the creations of japanese designer Jun Takahashi for his label Undercover. He has already used the artwork of albums by The Jesus And Mary Chain, Television, and The Talking Heads to enhance his collections. While some might find at least some of his clothes interesting in light of these combinations, others may say it’s just another cheap way to merchandize and make some money off of these Post-Punk classics… but then again there’s one thing that most of the clothes from Undercover are not – and that is cheap.
You can find more obvious examples in the male section; most designs for the female collections are a bit more subtle than their counterparts.
Not impressed? Well, how about this then?
Yeah, thought so.
The Television line left me speechless.
While this looks like a solid wardrobe choice for the upcoming Psychocandy concerts, it’s not that hard to do it yourself (except maybe for the fine print on the back pocket of the trousers).
If nothing else, at least we can agree Mr. Takahashi shows some fine taste in music through his designs.
For more pictures see the official Undercover site… and if you’re hooked now and want to own one of the pieces for yourself I’d suggest a search for the keyword ‘undercoverism’ to find stores in your proximity where you could buy some of these creations.
