Katsuhide Morimoto

Katsuhide Morimoto is a Japanese photographer born in Kanagawa Prefecture in 1974. While studying at Nihon University’s College of Economics, he began assisting photographer Yoshie Tominaga in 1997. He subsequently established a career across fashion magazines, advertising and artist portraiture, working with fashion labels and publications in Japan and internationally. His long professional practice has also made him a mentor to younger photographers.

Morimoto has an extended relationship with UNDERCOVER. He contributed photography to the GRACE world around the Spring/Summer 2009 period and later became one of the named founding members of UNDERCOVER PRODUCTION in 2018 with Jun Takahashi, Tetsuya Nagato and Taro Mizutani. Subsequent Undercover editorial and campaign credits extended the connection. The official English UNDERCOVER site has also rendered his given name as “Tatsuhide”, but Japanese launch material identifies him as 守本勝英, Katsuhide Morimoto.

Morimoto’s photography is built around the atmosphere specific to a person, place and moment. In discussing his camera practice, he has emphasised the value of equipment that lets him catch a mood that is difficult to describe verbally. Across fashion stories, advertising and portraiture, this produces images in which clothing remains clear while expression, distance and the surrounding environment carry much of the emotional tone.

His work with UNDERCOVER connects that observational approach to a house that has long used photography as part of collection authorship and presentation. The GRACE project gave still images an expanded role in the collection’s fictional world, and UNDERCOVER PRODUCTION later formalised a recurring team for image and video work. Morimoto’s contribution remains photographic, bringing continuity of gaze to projects that move between editorial documentation and constructed fashion imagery.