TOKYO, Jan 19, 2016 - (ACN Newswire) - UNIQLO today announces its new UT (UNIQLO T-shirt) lineup for Spring/Summer 2016. Under the direction of NIGO, UT Creative Director since 2014, the company takes the T-shirt to exciting new levels, with improved shapes and silhouettes as well as graphics that celebrate themes of authentic pop culture from around the world.
UT is a key component of UNIQLO's LifeWear range. This season's range features 16 new graphic themes, bringing the total to around 40, for more than 1,200 pattern and color variations. There is bound to be a UT that adds just the right pop culture statement to the wardrobe of almost anyone of any age. UNIQLO will roll out the new offerings through stores around the world and online.
Showcasing handpicked examples of pop culture from around the world
- Art, Culture and LifestyleAn exciting new addition to the UT range is a special collaboration with LIBERTY LONDON, a prestigious British brand. There is graphic content from Bruno Munari, a renowned Italian picture book artist and designer. The range also includes themes from Jimbobart, the creation of London-based James Ward, as well as from France's Olympia Le-Tan, which is famed for clutch bags, and from Sweden's Almedalhs, a highly respected textiles design house.
- MusicGroove Makers makes its first appearance in a series of designs from Universal Music Group's record label logo portfolio. The very popular Music Icons series adds such artists as Foo Fighters, Led Zeppelin, The Misfits, Kurt Cobain, and the Sex Pistols from Live Nation Merchandise, and The Chemical Brothers.
- CharactersOne exciting addition this season is LEGO(R) T-shirts in various designs. Also new this season are beloved children's book character BARBAPAPA and designs from the popular SpongeBob SquarePants animated television series, which has also appeared in film and musical productions. Complementing Miffy, a Dick Bruna character that has already appeared in the UT range, are graphics from his series of books about a little Black Bear whose eyes are always red because he reads too much. The Spring/Summer 2016 range includes new designs from MAGIC FOR ALL, the line that was introduced last year based on the Disney Project.
- Japanese cultureOne new contribution this season is from HAIBARA, a traditional hand-made paper dealer founded in Nihonbashi, Tokyo, in 1806. There is also content from SHODO, a collection of black brush-stroked characters, and from KINNIKUMAN, a manga series featuring a wrestling superhero. We have augmented designs for the popular SHOCHIKU KABUKI series launched last year.
Commenting on the Spring/Summer 2016 line up, NIGO said, "T-shirts are central to my style, and I wear them every day. After becoming a fashion fan, I realized that T-shirts and jeans are the coolest combo. The simplicity is deceptive; it takes a bit of effort to get the balance just right. One great thing about T-shirts is that they can spice up your look up even if worn out, and they can get even cooler as time marches on. One of my goals with UT is to create T-shirts that become valuable vintage items after several years."
NIGO added, "For Spring/Summer 2016, we augmented T-shirts featuring brands that are popular worldwide with a selection of items featuring graphic design details that only hardcore fans of certain pop culture elements will truly understand and love. So, check out the fantastic contents in our new lineup when you get an opportunity."
NOTES to Editors:
What is UT? UT, the UNIQLO T-shirt brand was launched in 2003. Since then, UT has assembled a wide range of content from current pop culture - from art and music to movies, comics and cartoons - producing a huge range of T-shirts as tools for free self-expression. From Spring/Summer 2014, UNIQLO appointed street fashion innovator NIGO as its first Creative Director in charge of reviewing T-shirts and carefully choosing graphics for them.
NIGO took UT in a completely new and uncompromising direction, giving UT a fresh start under the tagline of the "The New Model T."
This year, UNIQLO has returned to the origins of the T-shirt, while raising the bar in offering authentic pop culture. With the addition of 16 new graphic themes, UT offers a total of 40 this season in more than 1,200 pattern and color variations for men, women, kids and babies.
The history of UT- In 2003, UNIQLO launched a graphic T-shirt collection whose concept was to make T-shirts more fun. We positioned T-shirts as an enjoyable vehicle for expressing individuality, showcasing many examples of pop culture and other content.- In 2007, UNIQLO created the name UT (for UNIQLO T-shirt) and logo design under the direction of Kashiwa Sato.- From the 2014 season, UNIQLO appointed NIGO as Creative Director to review the quality of the T-shirts and their graphics. Under the "The New Model T" tagline, UNIQLO has introduced an array of themes and variations every year, returning UT to its origins and creating a new standard for T-shirts.- In March 2014, UNIQLO launched SPRZ NY through a collaboration with MoMA, the Museum of Modern Art, in New York City.- In May 2014, UNIQLO began the UTme! service, enabling customers to design their own T-shirts.- In April, 2015, UNIQLO launched the UTme! Market service, enabling customers to sell T-shirts they themselves design.
2016 Spring/Summer UT NEW Collaborationhttps://www.acnnewswire.com/topimg/Low_Uniqlo1601191.jpg
Press release (PDF): http://www.acnnewswire.com/clientreports/598/160119.pdf
About UNIQLO LifeWear
Apparel that comes from the Japanese values of simplicity, quality and longevity. Designed to be of the time and for the time, LifeWear is made with such modern elegance that it becomes the building blocks of each individual's style. A perfect shirt that is always being made more perfect. The simplest design hiding the most thoughtful and modern details. The best in fit and fabric made to be affordable and accessible to all. LifeWear is clothing that is constantly being innovated, bringing more warmth, more lightness, better design, and better comfort to people's lives.
About UNIQLO and Fast Retailing
UNIQLO is a brand of Fast Retailing Co., Ltd., a leading global Japanese retail holding company that designs, manufactures and sells clothing under seven main brands: Comptoir des Cotonniers, GU, Helmut Lang, J Brand, Princesse tam.tam, Theory, and UNIQLO. With global sales of approximately 1.6817 trillion yen for the 2015 fiscal year ending August 31, 2015 (US $13.88 billion, calculated in yen using the end of August 2015 rate of $1 = 121.18 yen), Fast Retailing is one of the world's largest apparel retail companies, and UNIQLO is Japan's leading specialty retailer.
UNIQLO continues to open large-scale stores in some of the world's most important cities and locations, as part of its ongoing efforts to solidify its status as a truly global brand. Today the company has a total of more than 1,600 stores in 17 markets worldwide including Japan, Australia, Belgium, China, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Russia, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, U.K. and the U.S. In addition, Grameen UNIQLO, a social business established in Bangladesh in September 2010, currently operates several Grameen UNIQLO stores in Dhaka. UNIQLO manages an integrated business model under which it designs, manufactures, markets and sells high-quality, casual apparel. The company believes that truly great clothes should be supremely comfortable, feature universal designs, are of high quality and offer a superb fit to everyone who wears them.
With a corporate statement committed to changing clothes, changing conventional wisdom and change the world, Fast Retailing is dedicated to creating great clothing with new and unique value to enrich the lives of people everywhere. For more information about UNIQLO and Fast Retailing, please visit www.uniqlo.com and www.fastretailing.com.
For media queries, please contact:UNIQLO Global PRHoyu Sha or Yuriko FurusawaTel. +81 3 6865 0600
Source: UNIQLO
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