Collaborations between designer names and fast fashion brands don’t come as huge surprises like they did back in the day. But what separates Uniqlo from other brands is their approach to working with designers who share their ethos. Many times, the collaboration isn’t limited to a one-time collection, but a continuous partnership that evolves into full blown lines such as Uniqlo UT graphic tee line and Christophe Lemaire’s Uniqlo U.
For last year’s Fall/Winter collection, head designer Jonathan Anderson drew inspiration from his British upbringing, making use of heavy colors, tartan, and stripes. This summer, JW Anderson blesses us with a second collection—one that still takes inspiration from home, but through a more romantic lens.
JW Anderson’s Spring/Summer 2018 collection with Uniqlo takes us to a charming British seaside vacation town in the 50’s. With relaxed fits and the designer’s touch on beach-casual basics, the collection features lightweight, heritage-inspired garments made mostly in linen and cotton with pops of color.
We were given a chance to check out the clothes before it released. Here are some of our favorite pieces:
Pocketable Parka
The Pocketable Parka is a Uniqlo staple. You simply can’t enter a Uniqlo store and not see an iteration of the lightweight, waterproof wonder that fits perfectly into a little pouch attached to the parka itself. You know what we’re talking about. For his collection, JW Anderson makes it his own with a three-way color block and a nice logo detail at the back. It comes in three different color ways, but this sage green pop is a vibe.
Striped Short-Sleeved T-Shirt
You can’t really tell from the photos, but the mismatch of the stripes isn’t printed. It’s actually two different fabrics stitched together in the middle to create the unique pattern. The craft and quality of this tee is amazing. It fits nice and roomy without being boxy. Be sure to see how he reinterpreted this for the women too. The tee comes in navy, yellow, and orange.
Women Linen Cotton Long Flare Skirt
By far one of the best pieces from the women’s side in the collection. JW Anderson was generous enough to give us the patchwork construction and shape, which was a direct lift from his mainline pieces, allowing you to get the look without having to spend more than Php 30,000.
Hat
If you could only get one piece from the entire collection, let it be this one. Clearly one of the more iconic pieces in the collect, the bucket hat comes in two colors: beige and denim. The denim one is a personal favorite. The final product almost gives the illusion that each one was handcrafted with the dye running heavy on some parts instead of it being even all over.
Denim Jacket
Workwear-inspired garments made for most of the outerwear in the collection, but the denim jacket stands out for a couple of reasons. For one, they’ve managed to craft the fit so well that it looks great on both men and women. It fits a little slim and slightly cropped – a breath of fresh air from all the oversized garments we’ve been seeing lately. Now, remember the mismatch striped theme that played on the tees? They ran with that for the construction detail on the back as well and added elbow patches for good measure. This was the one piece that I wanted, but wasn’t able to get, so if you happen to find one in an XL please @ me.
Uniqlo and JW Anderson 2018 Spring/Summer Collection is out now in SM Mall of Asia, SM Aura, SM Megamall, and C3 Annex BGC.
You’re still shopping for your summer wardrobe. So check out some of our favorites from Uniqlo U’s 2018 summer collection here.
Words by Paulo Reyes
Header by Bryan Sochayseng