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Jun Takahashi returned to Paris Fashion Week with a poetic reinterpretation of his own archive, unveiling UNDERCOVER’s Spring/Summer 2026 menswear collection, titled “but beautiful 4.5…”. Presented through a lookbook and showroom format, the collection revisits the label’s Fall/Winter 2004 “But Beautiful” era—recasting its themes with a fresh, contemporary edge.
The 51-look range continues a thread already seen in UNDERCOVER’s recent FW25 womenswear, where Takahashi explored his past designs with curved seams, romantic tailoring, and subtle nods to cultural icons. Here, those design elements return in full force, paired with printed lyrics from Patti Smith’s “People Have the Power,” which echo across garments as poetic rallying cries.
Collaborations are central to the SS26 vision. British painter Emma Bennett’s artwork appears throughout, her ethereal, floral still-lifes enhancing the dreamlike quality of Takahashi’s pieces. Longtime partners Champion and OTW by Vans also return, offering reworked versions of the Slip-On and Sk8-Hi, while Dickies makes its UNDERCOVER debut. The classic American workwear label provides its utility staples for Takahashi to reshape with sculptural seamwork, resulting in a dialogue between rugged function and high-concept form.
What emerges is a collection that balances melancholy and rebellion, structure and fluidity—a hallmark of UNDERCOVER’s storied aesthetic. With SS26 “but beautiful 4.5…”, Takahashi doesn’t just reflect on the past—he remixes it, giving his legacy a new rhythm for the future.
Stay tuned as staggered releases for the collection and its collaborations roll out in early 2026.
Photos: UNDERCOVER