Pitti Uomo's Special Guest: Undercover

Well, the doors have officially opened and closed for the 76th Edition of Pitti Uomo, which was held June 16-19 in the beautiful Renaissance city of art, Florence, Italy.

Although the brands in attendance were far too many to list, you may search them by style, specific item, country, and more on the Pitti Immagine Uomo N. 76 Exhibitors’ List page.

For the next few articles, I will highlight some of the main events surrounding emerging designers.

The special guest at the 76th Edition was Japanese label, Undercover, designed by Jun Takahashi.

Born 1969 in Kiryu of the Gunma prefecture (100 km from Tokyo), Takahashi studied at the Bunka Academy of Fashion. But before graduation, the young student had already developed his Undercover brand, along with classmate Tomoaki "Nigo" Nagao, who went on to found A Bathing Ape, otherwise known as BAPE.

Striking a balance between fashion and art, Takahashi seeks to evoke emotions of terror, youthful unrest, and his own sense of peace with himself as he merges music, cinema, street wear, and Japanese art of cartoon comics known as Manga, which dates back to 1874.



Photo Undercover 2010 s/s collection by Giovanni Giannoni, source Pitti Uomo.

Slideshow Undercover 2010 s/s collection by Giovanni Giannoni, source Pitti Uomo.

Japan—Much Closer than Mars!

In my last article, I spoke about the Japanese passion for music and fashion. No website better exemplifies this love other than that of the Japanese Fashion Week Organization, which sponsors the bi-annual Japanese Fashion Week in Tokyo, an event that will take place in just several weeks.

One of the major stars who will be featured at the show is Japan's Shinichiro Shimojo of Under Castle. Combining the skills of graphic designer and artist, Shimojo is also an accomplished writer. He's inventive and innovative—a rare kind of visionary!

Shimojo's claim to fame lies in his concept of "cross wear," which is the dualistic notion that inner wear (or underwear) can be worn as outerwear, as well as for business or at play. The "C" in cross wear also stands for comfortable--and yes--cosmic!

Inspired by NASA's space probe by the Phoenix Mars Lander, Shimojo envisions earthlings' life as it would be on a planet light years away as he utilizes skin-soft materials that fit tightly yet loosely stretch, allowing you to move your arms and legs about freely in outer space!

Maybe you cannot travel to Mars in your lifetime, or even to Japan's Fashion Week this year. But you can travel virtually to many sites with one simple click.

So why not join Shimojo in his quest for life in the cosmos!



Slide show Shinichiro Shimojo/Eiji Matsunaga s/s 2009 collection, copyright Japan Fashion Week Organization.

Kitsuné—the Foxy New Rave

So how can we describe it? Is it a movement...an underground culture...the latest rave in music...or the newest fashion label? Let's say, it is all the above!

Kitsuné is what some are calling the hottest record and fashion label in Paris, which hosts parties from London to Tokyo with the electro-rock sounds of Digitalism, Cazals, and Fisherspooner.

It all started when the Parisian-born owners, Gildas Loaec and Masaya Kuroki, took a trip to Japan where they were awestruck by the collective love of the Japanese for music and fashion. So in 2002, Gildas and Masaya decided to combine these two passions into one label—Kitsuné.

Inspired by the Japanese mythological fox, which is always changing its face, Gilas and Masay adopted the name kitsune, which means 'fox' in Japanese, knowing that they were pioneering an ever-evolving brand that would take on many faces.

As DJ's, the duo has scouted out fresh, new, upcoming pop artists of every genre from around the world and recorded several compilations of their music, merging the sounds of electronic and rock. As fashion designers, the duo accompanies their music revolution with trendsetting styles. For the complete s/s 2009 collection, click here.

So, why not sit back, turn off my play list below, and listen to a sample of Kitsuné beats?!

Photo Copyright Kitsuné.