'Make it a bit more feminine," LeAnn Nealz, Uniqlo's newly-appointed chief creative officer declares.
Without the slightest strain of doubt, the past creative director of Juicy Couture knows exactly what few things she is looking to change at the iconic Japanese clothing brand. "I'd like to make women's clothes fresher and more modern in fit. Uniqlo started out as a menswear company, but girls aren't unisex you know? I want them to feel more more feminine and a little bit girlier."
Will this, however, be daijobu? With the recent appointment of non-Japanese officers to lead the brand through a global and "international" era, we can't help but wonder if the beloved, monotonous basics are going to get white-washed in its attempt to appeal to the world market.
Unquestionably, when jargon like trillion, expansion and world-wide recognition dot the goals of a company's business plan within the next 10 years, it leads to one obvious road: evolve full-throttle into something universally-relatable, so it can conquer consumers from every city around the world. But forsake too much of its roots and the end result could lead to becoming blandly homogeneous to other Western fast-fashion brands that pack the apparel landscape.
This retailer, which operates in 16 countries, has never been the one to hold the fashion-forward torch, with its "Made For All" concept leading the direction for all the products, but we might just be able to expect more fashionable pieces in the upcoming seasons. This also extends to the children's line, so the whole family can look fab with just one stop.
"We have to be aware of what trends are going on," Nealz says. "We aren't trend-driven, but I think if it makes sense for us then we should have it. No, I won't be Americanising it. But there are things in every part of the world we need to be aware of and infuse them in the collections, although the heart of the brand is ultimately a Japanese one."
Not being a concept-pusher is an integral streak in the brand. "The fashion industry is all about creating looks of outfits and taking the latest trends from the catwalk and making it at an affordable price," explains Jorgen Andersson, who was appointed chief marketing officer at Uniqlo in 2014. "Uniqlo came from another angle, talking more about the product and not so much about the looks. It gives items to the consumer to create their own looks and to me, that's a very modern approach because fashion today is created by consumers as much as designers." Nealz, who was also a stylist in the past, adds, "Uniqlo is not a huge statement but you could wear it and put it together in a different way from what I would do. It's you that's the star in the Uniqlo garment."
Andersson has seen almost three decades of high street fashion, well enough to know that Uniqlo's "Made For All" and "Life Wear" concepts are going to be its winning shine. "I think no other brand is equally attractive for all genders and ages," says the man that has previously helped H&M, from a small Scandinavian brand into the second largest in the world. "I was going to New York four or five years ago when I didn't work for Uniqlo yet and my 15-year-old daughter and 85-year-old mother-in-law both asked me to go to Uniqlo and buy some items for them. Believe me, it doesn't happen with other brands because there is no other that has this wide appeal that Uniqlo has."
Inside the Uniqlo Le Marais store in Paris.
How Uniqlo has played its new additions and changes alongside the Japanese mentality and culture it has always been governed by is also proving to be quite colourful. It's no surprise that the bubbly and fashion-appreciating Nealz is injecting "nicer colours" into the different items. Think hot pink cashmere sweaters and vibrant ultra-light down jackets that were up for grabs last season. The dark basics will still be there (phew), but now, it's noteworthy that bright colours never before seen at the brand are getting a full rainbow range. Aesthetics-wise, things are definitely getting much more livelier.
On the innovation side, we can also expect the brand to keep coming up with new creations and customisation options that will easily excite fans. UTme!, an application that allows you to design your own tee, was launched last year so customers can create their one-of-a-kind t-shirts at Uniqlo. Choose a text, picture or draw something and shake your phone to create splashes, glitches or a mosaic effect to the design. For now, it's mainly available in Japan, while a little bird at Uniqlo Thailand tells us that the printing technology proves to be quite costly — whether it will arrive on our shores has yet to be settled.
For all its missions of global expansion, Uniqlo's latest touchdowns are also making an effort to glocalise. "Like stores in Le Marais, France, we're building a global brand but adapting it locally. Just as our CEO said, local is global and global is local," notes Andersson. The store in Le Marais indeed epitomises Parisian chic, as it is housed in a mid-19th century metal foundry, but furnished with modern elements. Alongside apparel, books and sundry items are also available, which is definitely more culturally enriching than seeing the trademark cubic and glassy Uniqlo flagship stores we are accustomed to.
The latest store that has recently opened in Tokyo, Kichijoji, is a don't-miss for fans of manga. Situated in an area known as the ultimate hood for manga enthusiasts, the store features comic-themed decoration and also showcases local flavours from the surrounding community and information on the hotspots worth heading to. The next city Uniqlo will raise their flag in is Antwerp, rather than Brussels, due to a rich, cultural backdrop that serves as a more interesting locale for a glocalised store.
Big dreams call for big developments, but let's hope not too many crazy changes factor into Uniqlo's bid to become the biggest apparel label by 2020. The Japanese charm in Uniqlo is what the world loves it for and we hope Andersson means it when he says, "I don't think I have to change so much because Uniqlo is doing perfectly fine."
The Uniqlo Kichijoji store offers pointers to local must-see spots in the area.
