Kohei Takabatake

Kohei Takabatake is a Japanese model whose closely shaved head became a recognizable feature of the international menswear shows in the late 2010s. His rapid arrival on the circuit brought a Japanese male face into major European collections and, subsequently, advertising for Dior and Versace.

Kohei began modeling in 2016 after an introduction to the Japanese agency Be Natural. In a 2017 interview with Them magazine, he explained that he had lived in Vienna between the ages of nine and thirteen, an experience that helped him communicate in English when working abroad.

His first job was the cover of a denim feature for WWD Japan. Stylist Shun Watanabe suggested the shaved haircut during an early shoot, believing it would attract attention overseas. Asked which type of modeling he preferred, Kohei answered, “Definitely runway,” translated from Japanese.

His first Milan and Paris season, in June 2017, included eighteen brands. By February 2018, Vogue Hommes reported that he had walked thirty-one shows for fall-winter 2018, the highest total among men that season.

In the accompanying interview, he described an attachment to clothes that preceded his career, recalling visits to a local secondhand shop during high school. “I learned to be patient and not rush,” he said of working internationally, translated from the French text.

Advertising gave that runway identity a wider audience. Kohei appeared in Calvin Klein’s spring 2019 watches campaign, photographed by Lachlan Bailey. For spring 2020, he joined Dior Men’s campaign with Steven Meisel and Versace’s advertising with Mert & Marcus.

Later work included Louis Vuitton’s Aerogram accessories and runway appearances for Hermès. Japanese labels also form part of his portfolio, including CFCL, connecting his international career with the fashion culture in which his interest in clothes began.