Junya Watanabe

Junya Watanabe

1992-

Watanabe (b. 1961) studied at the Bunka Fashion College, Tokyo, and, on graduation in 1984, went to Comme des Garçons, initially working as a pattern cutter but after three years was designing the Comme des Garçons Tricot collection. In 1992 he launched his eponymous womenswear label backed and produced by Comme des Garçons. He launched his menswear line Junya Watanabe MAN in 2001. His menswear explores archetypical garments, reinventing through the use of innovative materials or the conjunction of disparate elements from other existing menswear garments. This process has led to numerous collaborations including Porter, Loewe, Vanson, Brooks Brothers, Converse, Levi’s, Carhartt, Nike, The North Face and ArkAir.
Sources: The New York Times.