British designer Clare Waight Keller has been appointed Creative Director at Uniqlo, overseeing its core collection for men and women from this autumn.
Waight Keller has previously collaborated with Fast Retailing’s Uniqlo on sub-label, called, Uniqlo: C. This will continue but Waight Keller adds creative responsibility for all collections that fall under the brand’s LifeWear umbrella.
Speaking to Vogue, Waight Keller said: “What you’ll start to notice is that within some of those core programs there’ll be new fashion shapes, and there’ll be new silhouettes that drop every other month, to really bring in the freshness.”
She is also promising a more feminine approach to the womenswear offer with more experimentation in terms of colour and pattern and more fashion-forward silhouettes to draw in a younger consumer.
Uniqlo is best know for its everyday basics such as cashmere knits, jersey separates and its signature puffer jackets. It does, however, have a long tradition of partnering with designers from the luxury realm. As well as Waight Keller’s line, it has produced collections with Jonathan Anderson of JW Anderson and Loewe, Jil Sander and Marni, as well as French designer Christophe Lemaire who is also creative director of its Uniqlo U sub-brand.
Uniqlo: C by Clare Waight Keller
Waight Keller is one of Britain’s best known creative directors and has held the top design job at both Chloé and Givenchy, where she famously designed the wedding dress for the Duchess of Sussex.
Her career began in New York where she worked for Calvin Klein and Ralph Lauren before moving to Tom Ford’s Gucci in 2000. She left Gucci and joined Pringle of Scotland before moving to Paris to join Chloé. She joined Givenchy in 2017 and left in 2020.
Her Uniqlo: C collection was launched last year.
