Introduction
What is written in the first brand magazine of Uniqlo ?
The article is reprinted from: One Night Aesthetics
ID: yiyemeixue
Original: Asako on the Pillow
Editorial power is extremely important today. It may no longer be news for brands to create magazines, but the combination of Uniqlo + Kinoshita Takahiro makes people unable to help but think about it. Take a quick look - in May last year, the legendary editor-in-chief switched jobs from the Japanese men's fashion magazine "POPEYE" to Uniqlo, which made people look forward to the unfolding of a new era. And he recently handed over his first answer sheet, Uniqlo's first brand magazine "Life Wear". The name of
magazine is taken from the brand’s Slogan established as early as 2013. When it is transformed into a physical magazine, Uniqlo's ambition becomes more tangible: it does not need to be limited to the clothing itself, but to promote the enthusiasm and insight into life that can be infinitely extended.
The illustrations, photography, and styling of this new magazine are mostly from the old team who have worked with Kinoshita for a long time, and the tacit understanding can be seen in the fresh atmosphere. And the spiritual core he once gave to "POPEYE" seems to shine through. Those city boys who do not blindly follow trends, but create connection points for every beautiful thing in the city, get along well with UNIQLO's world view. The first issue of
magazine has the theme of "Design Derived from Functional Beauty (New Form Follows Function)", which is also the concept of Uniqlo's 2019 autumn and winter series. Let's first see how they perform.
Cover:Adrian Johnson (Illustration)
01. Who to work with?
The cunning gaze that dissolves boundaries
Lisa Larson
"It is not copying, but creating in digestion."
Maybe you have also seen Lisa Larson's striped cat on a Uniqlo T-shirt. In 2019, this cooperation will continue. In the first issue of the magazine, they visited the Swedish ceramicist's home studio.
Lisa Larson has more than 70 years of creative experience, and touching the soil is still a daily routine for this 88-year-old Swedish girl. She has traveled around the world to explore pottery and injected inspiration from China, India, Japan and other places into her creations, so it is difficult to summarize her works into a certain style.
The camera swept over, and every corner of the house was filled with creations - freewheeling, cheerful, and rich. Therefore, the reason why her works have appeal regardless of nationality is probably because she really turned the soil into her own source of happiness.
Christophe Lemaire
Inspiration from old Japanese magazines
The U series, which has been officially "regular" since it was snapped up every time it was released, asked the design director Christophe Lemaire about the inspiration for this year's autumn and winter series. This time, what he mentioned was an old magazine cover he found at COW BOOKS, a second-hand bookstore in Nakameguro, Tokyo.
These covers of "Ordinary Punch" magazines from the 1960s and 1970s were created by Ayumu Ohashi. At that time, fashion and lifestyles from Europe and the United States were flooding into Japan. They were more like an expression of attitude behind the trend than the clothing itself.
Christophe believes that the design inspiration of the U series is similar to this. "I have been thinking about a slogan of the U.S. Navy in the 1960s: Keep it simple, stupid."
Keith Haring
Party of Life
As the first artist to make his paintings into peripherals, since 2006 Keith Haring, who has participated in the UT series cooperation since 2008, can be said to be the epitome of UNIQLO's entire art co-branding concept.
In addition to introducing the rise of this Pop Art master and his artistic pursuit of "Art is for Everyone", they also invited Tsuneo Tsuneo, a popular Japanese illustrator, to talk about Keith Haring in his eyes - he can be said to be the representative of all people working with today. The commercially connected illustrator forges a new path, "living in the world that Keith created."
The cooperation pattern of UT for the new season comes from the invitation letters that Keith created for New York clubs in the 1980s. Madonna and Andy Warhol were all active members of these parties back then.
02. Who is wearing it?
Cool amateur models
As a clothing brand magazine, the release of new autumn and winter products should naturally occupy a considerable space. Instead of the rigid model photos or celebrity endorsements of the past, most of the looks in "Life Wear" are performed by amateur models.
The three special topics "A Day in Tokyo", "The New Yorker and Wool", and "Los Angeles Moments" have very different styles and a wide range of age and cultural backgrounds. However, the same thing is that the protagonists are the most calm in their respective cities. Enjoy a group of people. Their dress is not the protagonist, but their life experiences are more focused.
Nanako Hirose, 32 years old, film director, director assistant to Kore-eda
Kanako Nishi, 42 years old, novelist/painter
Kiran Sahgal, student·ceramics apprenticeship
Jackie Yaeger, independent magazine publisher
Ellie Bartis, surfing instructor
Jake Shellow, carpenter
03. Where to go?
Uniqlo has started making city guides
What is eye-catching in the new magazine is Vietnam Ho Chi Minh City’s city guide, the key word is "diversity".
only briefly touched on the traditional impressions of aunties selling fruits and vegetables, motorcycle gangs on the road, and noisy seafood stalls. They paid more attention to "changes." For example, local Vietnamese architects were invited to talk about landmarks in this rapidly changing city that combine native scenery with modern design. Or ask young Vietnamese artists to share with you the art and culture that is quietly being nurtured behind the ancient colonial landscape.
Ho Chi Minh City City Guide
They also went to the design capital Milan and invited a group of local industrial designers and architects to talk about their favorite Uniqlo. In addition, they also carefully searched for local design stores - of course the reason is , Uniqlo will open stores in Vietnam and Milan.
04. Who to talk to?
See more by clothing
Since the theme this time is form follows function, Rebecca Bay, the creative director of UNIQLO New York Center, visited an expert who knows this well- Yanagi Sori The Yanagi Industrial Design Studio established in 1953.
Faced with the reality of population surge in the 1930s, mass production became a necessity. Yanagi Sori believed that high-quality products that had both functionality and aesthetics needed to be reasonably priced. Therefore, somewhat unexpectedly and seemingly naturally, Yanagi Sori's son said that his father is also a fan of Uniqlo.
Their father and son’s attitude towards fashion is the same as their industrial design. They are disgusted with over-stimulating design and fashion that accelerates the consumption cycle. Yanagi Sori believes that the lifespan of design should be a hundred years, and many of his designs are indeed in use 60 years later. It remains unfaded today.
In addition, they also chatted with Indian designer Rina Singh about the evolution of Indian clothing culture. Uniqlo is collaborating with her on a locally produced kurta series in India. Due to its comfort and functionality, as well as the improvement of women's status, this traditionally male clothing is now becoming another daily clothing for Indian women in addition to the saree.
Traditional Indian clothing requires a single piece of fabric with as few cuts as possible. Paying attention to the beauty of pleats, we also pay special attention to the texture of the fabric itself. These coincide with the concept of modern design. They developed a soft special fabric for the new kurta series, giving it more powerful functions and becoming a window to let the world see India today.
"Life Wear" is a biannual publication.
can be obtained for free at UNIQLO stores and Tsutaya Bookstores in Japan.
also provides a bilingual online version in Chinese and English:
https://www.uniqlo.com/jp/en/contents /lifewear-magazine/
