Pushed by the necessity of having to express every single one of his ideas, Jun Takahashi developed different themes that were associated with minicollections that only seemed to share a certain sense of tribe. Showing eight themes usually requires having eight seasons, Takahashi shows them in one. It’s intrinsically linked to the brand’s spirit, the movie The Warriors shares a countercultural sense and flair of cursedness since its premiere in 1979. Its cultural influence and social impact go beyond what the director created; a low-budget movie and a fast production.
THE WARRIORS, THE INSPIRATION BEHIND UNDERCOVER’S NEW COLLECTION
In the last seasons, menswear collections have become the true centre of UNDERCOVER’s creations. Jun Takahashi felt the need to explore this through different perspectives and without even knowing it he found the link with film, just as it had happened before with his prior collections dedicated to 2001: A Space Odyssey and The Shining. The collection had to revolve around The Warriors.
The Warriors’ plot, built around gangs, seems to be pulled out of the New York of the era, even though it was actually inspired by a 1965 novel by Sol Yurick which in itself is based on Anabasis by Xenophon. A story written 25 centuries ago was just as current in 1979 and it still is in 2019. The first scene from The Warriors, a gathering in the Bronx between the main gangs, was reminiscent to the Hoe Avenue peace meeting from 1971, an assembly in which the main New Yorker gangs established their basis for social peace, even though the way it ended up developing was closer to what is usually depicted in comics than that which happens in real gang battles.
The director Walter Hill understood that the book which it was based on wasn’t very realistic, but he wanted his adaptation to be even less realistic. The aesthetic of each gang was taken to such extremes that they almost became caricatures. However, the characters from The Warriors served as a mirror for the tribes of New York that ended up filling up the movie theatres. The Warriors, The Electric Eliminators or The Baseball Furies were inspired by real gangs, but they are also a source of inspiration for a society that was seeing the birth of hip hop.
Interested in a movie that showed a new image, the members of real gangs ended up coinciding in the movie theatres with some of their own enemies. In the week of The Warriors premiere, they were blamed for inciting riots and provoking three deaths, which is why many movie theatres stopped showing it, which is how it turned it into a cult movie that could only be shown in early morning sessions.
The Warriors ’ influence was referenced in Spike Lee films (Mister Señor Love Daddy in Do The Right Thing), Michael Jackson’s music videos or video games like Sega’s Street of Rage in 1991 or The Warriors in 2005, based on the film. Hip hop has been able to exploit its influences until exhaustion; dialogue soundbites appear in songs by Kendrick Lamar, Wu-Tang Clan, Diddy and dozens of other songs.
The idea of tribes with different aesthetic references was an open field for Jun Takahashi to expose all of his ideas. As if he were designing for a present version of The Warriors, instead of a collection inspired by just one idea, UNDERCOVER shows different ideas for each one of the gangs created specifically for this collection. It wasn’t the first time that Jun Takahashi had worked with fictional characters, but it actually was the first time he had created eight different universes for new warrior gangs.
The Dead Hermits, a group of hermit-like people who lived in opposition to society. Aesthetically they’re most close to The Warriors.
Vlads is a name related to Vlad Tepes, the inspiration behind Count Dracula. It’s a gothic universe, graphics created by David J, bass player for Bauhaus and Love and Rockets.
Bootleg Truth mixed different ethnic influences that lead to a blend of stylistic references.
Bloody Geekers are a new generation of violent Otakus with a normcore aesthetic.
Zen Mondooo is inspired by the work of Yamantaka Eye. Hanatarash’s leader is remembered for his aggressive behaviour. Violence, protections, noise and kanjis inspired by Einstürzende Neubauten.
The X Shaddows Hoppers referenced the freight hoppers, people whose nomad way of life is going across The States taking over train wagons.
The Larms used telepathy to communicate with each other and they reference psychic forces. Loud colours and plastic finishings in a vegan world.
Zorue, a group of monster-lovers who fantasise with their arrival to the biggest cities in the world.
Eight collections that work as capsules for the new warriors that take The Warriors as a starting point. If UNDERCOVER has relied on subcultures, they’re now creating them, surrounding them with imagery that combines motocross, Buddhism, references to Bauhaus or extreme gamers.
