There’s always been an unorthodox, distorted interpretation of what’s aesthetically pleasing in Takahashi’s work, and he notes there’s an “eccentric beauty” to his eyeless paintings, too. For example, he’s careful to adorn his idolic subjects with silk curtains on their frames in a delicate, almost loving gesture. The paintings’ blurred finishes are consistent with his attraction to the incomplete, offering a tasteful interpretation of what GALLERY TARGET calls his “closed-off worldview.” Where Takahashi’s UNDERCOVER predominantly references infamous cultural staples, like Aflred Hitchock’s film portfolio, Pink Floyd’s The Dark Side of the Moon album, and, most recently, the wailing banshees of Irish folklore (which trickle into Spring 2024’s designs through melancholic prints and a grim color palette), his paintings also call on real pop culture sources.
Still, the characters and public figures spotlighted in Takahashi’s artworks are much more difficult to decipher. His debut paintings depict “musicians and actors who have had a significant impact on his life,” but the tightlipped artist leaves it at that. “Some things can only be seen in darkness, disappearing in brightness,” reads the exhibition notes. This philosophy not only articulates the sentiment behind Takahashi’s brushstrokes, but also the concurrent thread that weaves through his garments at UNDERCOVER each season. Art as a medium for creative expression, however, is more interpretative in nature, and that’s exciting for Takahashi, who has never been a fan of tying things up in a bow. “We’re human beings—perfection is not cool,” he famously once said.
Two words—“chaos” and “balance”—often land on UNDERCOVER’s apparel, and their divergent themes
apply seamlessly to Takahashi’s canvases. It was the designer’s clutch on these two polar words that offered him the limitless potential to exceed in fashion, but it’s his multidisciplinary approach to design that now lets his artistic vision transcend beyond the confines of clothing. While his resume could confidently seat him at any fashion table, Takahashi’s shift into the arts is indicative of his present-day priorities, albeit ones that have been a long time coming.
