Junya Watanabe began his career as a pattern maker for Comme des Garçons. Watanabe had attended Bunka Fashion Institute in Tokyo (the same alma mater as Yohji Yamamoto), a world-renowned fashion school. At CDG, he quickly established himself and worked as the design director for the Tricot knitwear line until 1992. It was then he created a namesake label under the CDG Fashion House.

In 1992 the collection was launched with acclaim for conceptual designs, pattern manipulation, and innovative use of synthetic materials. Some notable design elements include draping techniques and cutting concepts.