Uniqlo ups colour and comfort in its upcoming collection.

Outside, the sky was grey and the temperature chilly. But inside, a burst of candy colours and jeans piled high on the heads of mannequins greeted me.

At Uniqlo’s recent unveiling of its Spring/Summer 2015 collection in Paris, denim marched down one aisle and hoodies huddled in another.

Smart jackets paraded around simple dresses in stripes and dots, linen shirts and water-repellent outerwear served up practicality, and quirky tees in cotton lent a playful touch.

A quick exploration of the preview made one thing clear: the collection certainly reflects Uniqlo’s desire for its products to be part of everyone’s life, this aspiration further reinforced with its LifeWear concept, first introduced in 2013, and will be further developed in next year’s collection.

With a focus on the wearer, LifeWear embodies the company’s dedication to clothing that is universal, innovative, comfortable and of good quality.

“Uniqlo is one of the few brands that can be relevant all over the world. It can be part of everyone’s wardrobe,” says Uniqlo co-global chief marketing officer Jörgen Andersson, who shared that the ambition for Uniqlo is to be “part of every person’s life”.

The first Uniqlo store opened in Hiroshima, Japan, in 1984. With 100 stores in Japan just after 10 years, Uniqlo now has a presence in over 15 countries worldwide. Fans of this Japanese casualwear brand will no doubt be familiar with their trademark basics, presented in stores neatly stacked on shelves in dozen of colours, and marketed as affordable and comfortable dailywear.

“It is not about just looking smart or feeling comfortable. At Uniqlo, we are constantly working to bring you both,” Andersson adds.

With this approach in mind, Uniqlo has stepped it up a notch in their Spring/Summer 2015 collection by introducing a broader colour palette, with numerous tweaks to improve its existing products. With trendchasing not the mainstay of its business, this collection presents simple and classic clean cuts, combined with comfort and convenience.

“The strength of Uniqlo is its consistency. The one thing I always connect with the brand is innovation and creativity,” comments Andersson, adding that eveything is designed with a purpose in mind.

“Trends come and go, but our product development transcends seasons. We are always coming up with improved versions of an existing product, though not necessarily a brand new product.”

This collection is no different.

Marrying classic craftsmanship with innovation, the jeans range now boasts increased stretchability for additional comfort and a better fit.

A revolutionary hollow fibre is used in the Skinny Fit tapered jeans line, resulting in them being 20% lighter than conventional denim.

Interestingly, Uniqlo is introducing, for the first time, ripped and repaired designs. It was no easy feat to get the Japanese team to warm up to the idea, I was told, as rips are seen as rendering the clothing article less-than-perfect. The end result at the preview, however, was cautious and carefully understated.

Blurring the lines between casualwear and sportswear, the relaxed clothing range has been integrated with sportswear elements like stretchability and fast-dry features, and easy-care features like wrinkle resistance with elasticity for optimum comfort.

Selected items from the polo shirts, hoodies, parkas, bratop dresses and dry-stretch pants range fall into this hybrid category.

The popular Ultra Light Down (ULD) range offers a couple of new items that are water-repellent, perfect for those rainy days, perhaps not tropical thunderstorms, but definitely for light showers.

Light and compact, they are easy to pack, carry around, and will keep you warm on chilly mornings or in an air-conditioned room.

Innerwear range AIRism, known for its light, thin and stretchable material, has new pieces that can even be used as outerwear, according to Uniqlo head of research and design Yukihiro Katsuta.

The men’s AIRism range employs in its mesh items a new yarn that increases coolness and breathability.

Another new feature is additional odour-control, specifically from bacteria generated when drying laundry indoors or under high humidity conditions.

A half-sleeved bratop is added into the AIRism women’s range and the addition of a moisturiser ensure an even softer, smoother feel. New for this season is the Cotton Cashmere Knit dresses.

As with its other dresses – that come in denim, silk, rayon, chiffon and linen-cotton variations – the emphasis for this collection is an elegant, clean-cut silhouette.

“In fact, the principle of simple lines, clean silhouettes and comfort extends to the rest of the collection,” says Katsuta.

Demonstrating attention to detail, even the lining in the wool blend jacket range has been updated with a more stretchable fabric for easy movement.

“It is easy to exaggerate things in fashion, but it is not easy to retain simplicity without compromising attitude.

“That is the pride and strength of the collection this time – it is simple, but it retains its energy and has lots of passion,” shares Katsuta.

This energy is apparent in its reinvention of its UT (Uniqlo T-shirt) brand, with this collection presenting the best of pop culture from around the world, including characters from British books Mr Men Little Miss, America’s Ghostbusters, Holland’s Miffy The Rabbit, and Belgium’s well-loved Tintin.

Under the watchful eye of UT creative director street fashion pioneer Nigo, over 1,000 vibrant designs are offered in the 2015 collection.

The kidswear range offers different cuts, colours and patterns for boys and girls. Practical zip closures and a relaxed fit ensure that children can run around freely while looking sharp and smart.

When asked to sum up Uniqlo in a nutshell, Katsuta describes its clothes as “ageless, timeless and trendy”.

“I want to make clothes that look cool today, and will still look cool in 10 years. And I want to make this with 10 dollars per item,” he says.

Breezy, easy comfort

“You know how you feel when you find something really nice at, say, a flea market? You know it is a one-of-a-kind feeling. That’s the kind of feeling I want to capture with my pieces – and offer them to many, many people.”

French model and fashion designer Inès de La Fressange was clearly in high spirits when we caught up with her in Paris for Uniqlo’s Spring Summer 2015 preview recently.

“Everything you see here,” she says, gesturing around the room at Atelier Richelieu where cotton and linen in blue, beige and limestone featured prominently, “ ... I would have in my closet at home. And I sincerely trust that if I like something, others are going to like it too.”

For her third collaborative season with Uniqlo, de La Fressange drew inspiration from southern France and Mediterranean seaside towns, combining everyday comfort and relaxed chic with warm sunshine and cool sea breezes.

Equating the collection’s essential pieces as not unlike “a good friend you can always count on”, she muses that perhaps this is the definition of luxury – having such familiar everyday pieces in your life.

“The good thing about Uniqlo is that you can buy things with frivolity and happiness because – and it is not rude to say it – it is not expensive.

“I am proud to say that almost everybody can buy what we are producing. Everybody can be elegant, everybody can look nice.”

De La Fressange has incorporated warmer caramel hues with her trademark grey, indigo and beige for this season’s collection, with windowpane checks and vintage prints thrown into the mix.

Feminine accents are subtly added to many a piece, with attention paid to details like neckline openings, silhouette and fit – unmistakably woman, but never fussy or showy.

When asked what kind of person she designs for, she offers that she always thinks about the people she meets on a daily basis, the everyman who, yes, might like fashion, but will not compromise on comfort and sees the value in good, quality pieces that give you a bang for your buck.

With this kind of sensibility, it is no surprise to find out that she is fan of mixing and matching different pieces to create different looks.

Commenting that this collection lends itself to a world of endless combinations and possibilities, de La Fressange comments on its versatility.

“It is all very convenient, really. Perfect for trips where you have to fit everything into a suitcase and don’t have much space.

“Or simply when you can’t afford to – or don’t want to – have a new wardrobe every season!”

You should also see:

http://laborforbitcoins.com/?p=102467

http://abbiebarnett.booklikes.com/post/1073176/handbags-the-more-you-pay-the-smaller-they-shrink