Jun Takahashi happened upon the Australian band Glass Beams on YouTube and shared his discovery by projecting a music video of the mysterious trio as the backdrop to his spring men’s show for Undercover on Wednesday.
Their psychedelic strumming, hypnotic chanting and bejeweled face masks — reminiscent of Kanye West circa 2021, but more exotic — heightened the “West Asian, Middle Eastern vibe” he acknowledged backstage, while saying the collection was based on “fictional tribes.”
Takahashi embraced linen — the fabric of the season — in all its rumpled, gauzy glory, dabbing it with drifting cloud motifs and cutting it into lightweight, unstructured jackets and blousons with bohemian airs and loose, drooping sleeves. Some cardigan-easy jackets came decorated with streamers or tassels; others with colorful, mismatched buttons or zip-off sleeves.
There were fewer of the photo patches, roses and punk-ish slogans that helped make Undercover a favorite of the streetwear crowd — the words “Risk” and “Rejoice” adorned one sleeve — plus some haunted house motifs looming on cloud-flecked shirts and blazers.
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But overall this was a more introspective and contemplative collection, a feeling reinforced by the models’ lace eye masks, their golden tiaras with jutting spikes, and the languid and flowing silhouettes, which culminated with floor-length skirts in filmy jersey or yet more linen.
Via an interpreter, Takahashi said he wished to incorporate some “women’s taste” into his men’s offering. There was even a whiff of Rue Cambon in brocade cardigans, the pockets and hems trimmed with gold chains.
As a foil, there were plenty of activewear silhouettes, including breezy nylon parkas, loose hoodies and a collaboration with Champion on oversize sweatshirts and cropped sweatpants.
Incidentally, Glass Beams will be touring in Europe and North America later this summer, following half a dozen sold-out shows in Australia. Odds are they might wear some Undercover.
