Uniqlo, the 'Undercover' remix

MANILA, Philippines - Jun Takahashi has a music mix online that alludes to his aesthetic sensibilities. Kraftwerk and Joy Division lead in play count. His designs lean towards the avant garde, like his T-shirts embellished with smashed    vinyl singles. His boutique in Aoyama, Tokyo is an art house where fashion seems incidental yet just as compelling. What could a retail brand like Uniqlo possibly want from him?

In July last year, news broke that the brand would be parting ways with long-time collaborator, German designer Jil Sander. Their three-year partnership yielded sleek and chic renditions of basic wardrobe must-haves; it also launched Uniqlo to the fashion industry on an international scale. The brand announced that it would be partnering with Takahashi, a celebrated experimental designer from Japan and founder of cult brand Undercover for its spring and fall/winter 2012 collections next.

The Uniqlo cast: Chito Miranda of Parokya ni Edgar; Katsumi Kubota, chief operating officer of Fast Retailing Philippines Inc., the exclusive distributor of Uniqlo in the Philippines; and Chris Tiu at the presentation of Uniqlo’s fall winter collection.

He blogged about the collaboration on honeyee.com, just before Uniqlo Undercover “UU” spring/summer 2012 dropped, saying his first thought was, “Why us?” Several meetings later, the partners found a common ground: to create “clothes for mom, dad and children, clothes for the whole family.” Takashi’s interest, he said in his post, stemmed from the fact that he and his wife Rico designed children’s clothing for Undercover, but had to discontinue the line. “One of the main reasons why I decided to do this project and resume making children’s clothes was the fact that the line had so many fans. Another big reason was that I wanted to offer our creations to people who, until now, had never heard of Undercover,” Takahasi wrote.

Last Aug. 22, the Philippines got its first sampling of Takahashi’s capsule collection UU at the Uniqlo flagship in SM Mall of Asia. Launched through a fashion show and a private shopping party, Takashi’s goal of introducing Undercover outside of Japan was duly accomplished. In the hands of Takahashi, the “UU” fall/winter collection is a street-influenced fashion line of high-quality, basic clothing for the modern family, which the UU look book portrays with edgy models sporting unkempt Morrissey-meets-Agyness hair, cool clothes and secret smiles. They posed with giant stylized bees, crickets and beetles –– the Takahashi touch.

Undercover took Uniqlo, known for low-priced fashion everyone can wear, and gave it a high-street spin, in Takahashi’s words, “adding a spoonful of spice” to the basics. It represents the style of the modern family from Tokyo, with variations of basic pieces like jackets, sweaters, and tees --cut slim and in a muted color palette. The UU collection reflects Takahashi’s design principles, while using Uniqlo’s signature innovations like Heat Tech and Ultra Light Down. It includes close to 100 items for men, women and children, and it brings together Undercover’s unique design aesthetic with Uniqlo’s high performance fabrics.

Following prevailing fall/winter trends, UU covers a broad range of clothing needs in a spectrum of grays and blacks, with the occasional Bordeaux and olive, as well as brights for children’s items.

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The first phase of the new collection is available at the Uniqlo store in SM Mall of Asia, as well as Uniqlo stores in 11 markets outside of the Philippines. For more information about Uniqlovisit www.uniqlo.com.