Based in Tokyo, Junya Watanabe is a fashion designer and the unofficial protégé of Comme des Garçons Rei Kawakubo. The designer began his career as an apprentice at Comme de Garçons, quickly distinguishing himself as an emerging talent. He launched his eponymous brand 1992 under the CDG label and soon after began showing his innovative and unexpected designs at Paris Fashion Week. To this day, Junya Watanabe is celebrated for his avant-garde concepts, featuring a unique style of cutting techniques, deconstructive silhouettes and fabric draping. Despite his notoriously individualistic work, he is credited with a number of brand collaborations that have propelled CDG to the forefront of the industry—including Converse All-Star and Puma.