Undercover Cuts Workwear for Valentin Loellmann's Studio

Undercover x Studio Valentin Loellmann went on sale Wednesday, October 28, 2026, at undercoverism.com and Undercover stores, and the clothes are uniforms. Undercover designed workwear for the artisans who build furniture at the Maastricht studio, then shot the campaign in the workshop with Valentin Loellmann and his staff wearing it.

It is the first collaboration between the two, according to FashionNetwork, and furniture got there before clothing did: bespoke pieces from the studio already sit in Undercover's new Hong Kong store.

Takahashi and Loellmann Met Over Furniture, Not Fashion

The collaboration grew out of a friendship between Jun Takahashi and Valentin Loellmann built on a shared interest in furniture design. The first result was physical, bespoke pieces from Studio Valentin Loellmann installed in Undercover's new Hong Kong store.

Loellmann set up his atelier in 2010 in an old factory building in the center of Maastricht, after graduating from the Academy of Fine Arts there, and founded Studio Valentin Loellmann in 2015. His Brass collection, shown at PAD Paris, pairs polished brass with charred walnut or oak. Dezeen described him cutting patterns out of brass plate, then bending and welding the sections onto the furniture, working the metal the way a pattern cutter works cloth.

That is a useful detail for a clothing label. A designer who already treats sheet brass like fabric is a reasonable person to ask what a workshop jacket should do.

The Uniforms Came Out of Conversations on the Workshop Floor

Undercover designed the workwear for the artisans who work in the studio. Through a series of conversations, the label explored the studio's working environment and the practical needs of its artisans, with the focus on fabric, texture, functionality and design.

Fashion Press lists a reversible MA 1 and a lined blouson among the pieces, and one cotton duck blouson. Cotton duck is a dense, tightly woven plain weave built to take abrasion, which is why it turns up in workwear. Human Made's Season 32 lineup, built from cotton duck, corduroy and flannel, draws on that family of cloth.

The campaign was shot at the studio, with Valentin and his workshop staff wearing the pieces.

Isetan Shinjuku is hosting the range at the Men's Creators section on the 6th floor of its Men's Building from October 28 through November 3, as part of the 2026 and 2027 AW SPOT COLLECTION.

Four Days Earlier, Undercover Sold Clothes Built to Look Taken Apart

On Saturday, October 24, Undercover released its AW26 men's line: eight pieces in 17 colorways through undercoverism.com and its own stores. Four of the eight, the padded MA 1, the zip sweatshirt, the docked pullover and the inside out pullover, were designed around the idea of a garment being rebuilt.

The Loellmann capsule solves the opposite problem. A uniform for a person who cuts, bends and welds all day cannot read as a garment coming apart, so the construction has to hold. Undercover sold a jacket styled as dismantled on a Saturday and opened a capsule about clothes that stay together four days later.

The wider season has leaned toward loosening distribution and widening the palette. FW26, titled 100% KHAOTIQUE NOIR, ran on silk padded coats and Cindy Sherman prints, and select pieces reached Dover Street Market Los Angeles in September. An artisan uniform made with a furniture maker is a different register from Cindy Sherman jersey.

Ownership Moves in February 2027, the Uniform Arrives in October

Human Made's board decided on June 15 to sign a non binding letter of intent to acquire all shares of Undercover Co. Ltd., as Complex reported from the announcement Takahashi shared. The plan called for a share purchase agreement in September 2026 and a transfer of ownership in February 2027, with the price to be set after an independent valuation and the terms undisclosed.

No report on the September agreement had surfaced when this ran. What is on the record is the calendar: an eight piece release on October 24, a collaboration with a furniture studio on October 28, and a planned ownership change about three and a half months later.

Isetan Shinjuku shows the range for seven days, October 28 through November 3, and the campaign images were taken among the people the clothes were made for.