Undercover Men’s Spring 2026: Teddy Boy

How does a teddy bear dress? Or a Jellycat or a Labubu?

This season, the stuffed toys are going with Jun Watanabe of Undercover, whose off-kilter collection was inspired by the stitching and styling of stuffed toys. It was a follow-on from his women’s fall 2025 collection, and was a tribute to his fall 2004 — “but beautiful…part parasitic, part stuffed,” outing.

In 2004, Takahashi first stepped into the toymaker’s shoes, imagining what singer Patti Smith would look like wearing clothes resembling the stuffed animals made by French plush artist Anne-Valerie Dupond. The artist’s raw, spontaneous vision dovetailed with the designer’s obsession with beauty in imperfection.

The result was charming then – and now – with curvy seams and zippers; soft, droopy, unlined linen jackets; wonky buttons, and chunky, colorful stitching on denim.

Silhouettes were slouchy, and included padded coats with curved seams, exposed labels, and linings peeking out here and there. Wrinkly washed linen trucker jackets were decked with colorful fabric-covered pins and military-style badges.

A long plaid coat was a delightful mess of wrinkles, as if it had been rolled in a ball and stashed under the bed for a few days.

Knits were equally slouchy, and included a bright red cardigan with mismatched buttons – some with evil eyes on them – while wrinkly striped polo styles and knitted hats were made from Japanese paper and cotton.

There were Patti Smith references, too, in the form of song lyrics stitched onto jeans with wide-rounded legs and curvy seams. Other jeans were stitched – and re-stitched – with colored thread, just like stuffed animals that had been lovingly repaired over the years.

It was thought-provoking, sweet and easy to wear for humans and non-humans alike.