Junya Watanabe was born in Japan in 1961, and studied at the Bunkafukuso Gakuin Institute in Tokyo. He apprenticed under Rei Kawakubo of Comme des Garзons, first as a pattern maker, and then enventually a designer.
Under Rei Kawakubo’s patronage, Junya Watanabe struck out on his own in 1994 to launch his own label.
Like his mentor, Watanabe’s style is deeply rooted in Comme des Garзons’s aesthetic (mix of bright and dark colors, whimsically placed or upside-down pockets, de-emphasized shoulders, extra-long sleeves), but the layering, textures and colors are slightly exaggerated.
