'Uniqlo: C' sub brand is retailer's first collab with Clare Waight Keller

By

Sandra Halliday

Published
Aug 17, 2023

Uniqlo has revealed its first-ever collaboration with former Chloé and Givenchy creative chief Clare Waight Keller.

It said the British designer — who created the Duchess of Sussex’s wedding dress as well as being a celebrity favourite — “brings effortless sophistication to the high-quality daily essentials of LifeWear. Creating a core wardrobe of chic essentials for the modern woman that move easily from the city to the country and beyond — made for the energy of modern life”.

The Uniqlo: C collection’s naming — rather than just being named the usual ‘company x designer’ — hints at further collabs to come.

It launches on 15 September and with its debut in 1,500 Uniqlo stores globally, it’s certainly going to get lots of exposure.

It’s Waight Keller’s first major project since leaving Givenchy in 2020.

The collection itself is fairly extensive with its 30 pieces including a key roomy-but-tailored trench coat, a wrap coat, a paisley print chiffon dress, cashmere knits, pleated skirts, wide-leg cords and more.

The designer said the collection “is about bringing casual chic to an everyday, essential wardrobe. For me, that captures a modern, effortless sense of style — something I’ve done for years and wanted to bring into this collection, to express what I believe is true to us”.

She added that there were “some interesting challenges along the way” in creating it all “and some of that is because I wanted to incorporate a few interesting techniques I’ve used in my past. The idea of pleating – I’m using very textured fabrics for pleating and fine gathering. This tiny little spaghetti string coulisse, similar to a drawstring that runs through the dresses, which makes everything adjustable and easy.

"You can create different silhouettes using the drawstring in various ways. There’s also a beautiful satin pleated skirt with a graphic band across the bottom. That was logistically quite difficult to manage — the pleating and the graphic element — to get everything to work so perfectly, but we achieved everything in the best way”.