Junya Watanabe was born in Fukushima, Japan in 1961. He attended Bunka Fashion Institute in Tokyo and began his career as an apprentice pattern-maker at Comme Des Garcons for Rei Kawakubo, owner and designer of the company.
When Watanabe started his own line under his name, his main focused was to technologically advanced and synthetic style fabrics that is commonly known as techno couture design. In other words, creating a collection out of modern materials.
Many compared Watanabe style to that of Rei Kawakubo because they are both extremely unique and technologically innovative. He is well known for his utilization of finely tuned shape and tailoring. He gravitate towards deconstructing classic designs and recreate it to an entirely different piece.