Uniqlo in Central Saint Martins collab to reimagine essentials

By

Sandra Halliday

Published
May 16, 2023

Fast Retailing’s Uniqlo in the UK has linked up with art and design college Central Saint Martins, University of the Arts London, working with students from the BA Fashion and BA Fashion Communication courses “to re-imagine the future of essentials”.

And from Wednesday, it will showcase the winning work generated from the project in its flagship store on Oxford Street for three weeks.

The concept started with “unsellable Uniqlo items” being reimagined “through the lens of ‘Essential Futures’, reinforcing the company’s strong commitment to the arts, sustainability, future of fashion and next-generation talent”. 

The project began late last year with students provided with those unsellable items and asked to consider "what does 'Essential' look and feel like in the future?". They had to take into account the effects of “extreme environmental change, sustainability, potential technological advancements and how society might have to adapt to these changes”. 

Some 70 students took part, grouped into teams that presented garments inspired by that notion of Essential Futures. Three teams, including one overall winner, were selected with all three to be part of the exhibition in the store.

The winning project was New Found Futures, which “showed an outstanding understanding of Uniqlo’s LifeWear philosophy, attention to detail and impressive vision for the future of fashion and retail”. 

The students from that team said they were inspired by the idea of “being radical. Being the change makers in the world is what Uniqlo is striving to do and changing this landscape of retail. And as young designers we not only want to change the landscape of design, but the world”.