Junya Watanabe, a pattern maker by nature, was hired at Comme des Garçons immediately after graduating in 1984. He took over the Tricot line in 1987, started his own label at the company by 1992, and debuted his namesake collection in Paris in spring 1993. Junya Watanabe MEN followed in 2001.

His early Paris collections consistently went against the norm, from acid-toned PVC (Spring-Summer 1996) to heavily tattooed models in all-black leather (Autumn-Winter 1996/97). In the 2000s he turned to American vintage and heritage workwear, reworking traditional pieces with a Japanese touch, most visibly in his long-running Levi's collaboration. He remains best known for his place in the Comme des Garçons tree, favoring meaningful collections over trends.

Born: 1961, Fukushima

Movement: Tokyo

School: Bunka Fashion College

Design philosophy: Americana, Technical

Debut season: Spring-Summer 1993

Years active: 1992–present