Le voilà
EXCLUSIVE: Jil Sander and Tadashi Yanai Reflect on +J Collaboration
TOKYO — More than a decade after first launching their collaboration,
Uniqlo and
Jil Sander’s popular +J line closes out its second chapter with the release of the latest fall offering, which hit stores in the U.S. Thursday and launches in other markets Friday.
In exclusive email interviews in WWD, the German designer and
Tadashi Yanai, chairman, president and chief executive officer of
Uniqlo’s parent company
Fast Retailing, reflected on their experiences of working together.
“I think of +J as taking Ms. Sander’s vision and expertise in high fashion and democratizing it through our commitment to quality and through our manufacturing capabilities,” Yanai said. “Uniqlo is very proud of being able to present the essential qualities of Ms. Sander’s designs to all types of customers around the world. We will never forget the dedication Ms. Sander has brought to making apparel and plan to use it to cultivate further growth.”
Sander also had positive things to say about her work with the Japanese retailer.
“It made me very happy to reach so many customers in all parts of the world and to achieve the +J mission of providing a modern global uniform, offering value, smart understatement and carefully forged contemporary silhouettes,” she said. “The Uniqlo team became even more professional over the years, from the beginning; it was extremely attentive and helpful in devising new ways of doing things. I feel a strong affinity to the Japanese culture and work ethics, to the love of quality and precision, the readiness to respond to demanding ideas, the urge to innovate and the willingness to experiment and start from zero, if needed.”
The +J collection initially launched for the fall 2009 season at select Uniqlo stores worldwide. But Sander pointed out that, at the time, it was a very different company to what it has now become.
“Uniqlo grew almost tenfold and became a truly international company with stores all over world [since the collaboration launched]. Uniqlo proved that it can shoulder the required output and keep its high standard,” she said. “In 2009 already, Uniqlo had the know-how, the techniques and the logistics to establish +J successfully, a line [that] is based on highest quality, fabric research and fine craftsmanship. When we reactivated +J, the collections grew accordingly. I learned that it is possible to do things differently and achieve the ambitious goal of quality for all people.”
While the size of the +J collections grew along with Uniqlo, so did the line’s popularity worldwide.
“In 2009, when we launched our first collection, which we called ‘Chapter 1,’ Uniqlo had only nine markets to serve. Despite this, the collaboration between the legendary designer Jil Sander and Uniqlo took the world by surprise and was talked about much more than we had expected. I remember it being a big deal,” Yanai said. “By the fall of 2020, when the ‘Chapter 2’ collection was launched after 11 years, Uniqlo had expanded its business to 25 markets. There were return customers from the Chapter 1 era, of course, but I learned through social media that people from around the world who had never heard of +J or Uniqlo before were just as enthusiastic about Chapter 2. I believe this proves that if the product has intrinsic value, it can be conveyed to all kinds of people.”
Yanai said he and his team at Uniqlo also learned a lot from their work with Sander, especially when it comes to one of the company’s core principles — “simple is better.”
“Simple and beautiful clothes naturally require attention to detail, and Ms. Sander is a true pioneer in this area. Through our work with Ms. Sander, we were once again convinced that without the passion to evolve into something better, simple yet refined clothing would not be possible in the true sense of the word,” the executive said.
When the +J collection was first announced, it made headlines worldwide and gained a cult following of consumers. It was also the first time the Japanese retailer had worked with such a high-profile, global designer, and the collaboration led to subsequent partnerships with other well-known brands and designers. Among them are Christophe Lemaire, Jun Takahashi of Undercover, Jonathan Anderson, Theory, Nigo, Mame Kurogouchi, White Mountaineering and Ines de la Fressange.
“The +J project was Uniqlo’s first encounter with high fashion. At the time, Ms. Sander taught us the freedom of expression and meticulous attention to detail that only high fashion can offer. I feel that this experience broadened Uniqlo’s perspective on creation. This not only applies to collaborations with other brands, but also to the creation of our core basic items,” Yanai said.
Sander is known throughout the industry for her exacting standards of both quality and design, and she didn’t compromise on these even in her work with Uniqlo. Rather, during the times when she was creating the +J collections, she put her entire focus into this work.
“The accomplishment of +J needed all my energy. Since the collections were quite concentrated, it was a challenge to provide them with content, statement quality and integrity. With limited means, we managed to endow every piece with usefulness and practicality,” the designer said. “In general, I think that our +J work is a milestone for the apparel industry and the ways in which it needs to be reformed.”
With the second chapter of their partnership now coming to a close, both Yanai and Sander look at the experience fondly.
“Looking back, it was a very valuable experience, and we managed to achieve our aim together,” Sander said. “I profited from thinking on such a large scale as Uniqlo’s worldwide presence demands. Of course, it meant channeling my vision to a manageable, smaller collection size. +J may have helped Uniqlo to consolidate their customer base and create interest from new sides since we proved that the know-how and production quality of the company has no limits.”
Yanai echoed the designer’s statements but had even higher praise for her.
“Of course, it was the most positive, challenging and fun work I have ever done,” he said. “I hope Ms. Sander feels the same. She once said to me, ‘Uniqlo has proven that it is possible to mass-produce products while maintaining high quality through hard work and sincerity.’ I was very touched by that.”
Looking to the future and possible subsequent collaborators, Yanai hinted that the experience of working with Sander has shaped his company’s standards. He said the ideal collaborator is “someone who has passion, an obsession with quality, and a keen sense of the times — as Ms. Sander does — as well as someone who shares our company’s basic philosophy of the democratization of clothing.”
For her part, Sander said she is open to the possibility of future collaborations with other brands or companies, but that it would have to be a good fit, as “a quality product is demanding and asks for research and dedication.” She said she would even consider moving slightly away from the fashion business to an adjacent industry.
“I would be interested in translating my idea of purity into a new field, be it a very concentrated cosmetic line or a super-sneaker program,” she said. “This wouldn’t be unknown territory. I designed the first luxury sneaker ever for Puma, named ‘King,’ in the ’90s.”
Source: WWD
