Uniqlo to launch fall 2017 collection with J.W. Anderson

By

Obi Anyanwu

Published
Mar 29, 2017

Uniqlo is taking its LifeWear philosophy to the next level with designer Jonathan Anderson. The Japanese retailer announced on Wednesday at a press preview in New York City that the Loewe Creative Director is designing a range of men’s and women’s items launching in fall 2017.

 
Anderson, who also operates the J.W. Anderson fashion label, is the latest designer to join Uniqlo’s growing roster of creatives that includes Christophe Lemaire, Ines de La Fressange, and Hana Tajima. Yuki Katsuta, SVP of Fast Retailing and Head of R&D at Uniqlo said that the company was in talks with Anderson since October. The designer is tasked with creating “new traditional clothes.”
 
“The British Isles constitute a treasure house of apparel, with duffle coats and fisherman’s sweaters being just two examples,” said Katsuta. “In partnering with J.W. Anderson, we will tap into traditions while pursuing progress in designs and fabrics, to craft styles that are enduringly appealing.”

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Born in Northern Ireland, Anderson graduated from London College of Fashion before launching his fashion label in 2008. He has won numerous awards including the British Fashion Council Menswear Designer of the Year in 2014, and in 2015, became the first-ever designer to win both the British Fashion Council Menswear and Womenswear Designer of the Year in the same year. Anderson has collaborated with several companies and brands such as Net-a-Porter, Topshop, Versace and Coca Cola, and he was named Creative Director of Loewe in 2013.
 
Uniqlo has partnered with numerous designers and creatives such as Jil Sander, Carine Roitfeld, Michael Bastian and Nigo to redefine what clothing means to the consumer.

Katsuta said at the preview that clothing today must have a reason for existing and that people need to have a reason for why they want it. At the preview, he highlighted Uniqlo’s special Airism, Heattech and Ultra Light Down programs and showcased the first men’s collection of the Ines de La Fressange partnership with Uniqlo. Katsuta also explained the purpose of Uniqlo U - the retailer does not consider the line to be a collaboration with Lemaire, but a mission to create new basics with a different point of view.
 
The theme of the fall 2017 preview was ‘making a contribution to the evolution of clothing’ and the partnership with Anderson may take the retailer one step further in its mission.