If you live in Melbourne it probably hasn’t escaped your attention that Japanese megastore Uniqlo has opened in Emporium.
If you live in Sydney (and keep up with fashion news) it probably hasn’t escaped your attention that Uniqlo is opening in the Mid City Centre later this year.
If you live outside these cities or haven’t wandered into the Melbourne store yet, you’re probably wondering what is so special about Uniqlo anyway?
Uniqlo (pronounced ‘YOU-nee-klo’) opened it’s first store in Hiroshima in 1983 and now has more than 1,300 stores across the world. It’s called Japan’s answer to Gap because the clothes are simple, cheap and come in myriad colours. Read on for eight reasons why we’re excited about Uniqlo opening in Australia.
1. Every cut in every colour you could ever ask for.
You know when you watch a movie or tv show and suddenly need a Tiffany Blue or forest green jumper in your life? Well, you’ll be able to find it at Uniqlo. Right now, you’ll find some styles of jumpers and polo shirts stocked in 80 colours. EIGHTY COLOURS!
2. The quality.
With Zara and H&M (finally!) providing us Aussies with the latest trend-based fashion at cheap prices, Uniqlo’s main point of difference is the quality. They deliver the prices of H&M with the quality of a high-cost retailer.
3. The price.
Think skinny jeans for $60, merino jumpers for $30 and puffa down jackets for $90.
4. Petite sizes.
I know, this isn’t going to thrill everyone BUT if you are on the petite side and have trouble finding clothes in your size, Uniqlo DOES cater for you.
5. The denim.
Uniqlo’s premium jean is made in Japan of selvedge denim (it’s the denim with the red edge that you see when jeans are cuffed at the ankle). Uniqlo sources its selvedge from Kaihara, a 100-year-old mill in Hiroshima that makes denim for over a high-end labels like Citizens of Humanity and 7 for All Mankind. Because of Uniqlo’s buying power, think orders in the millions, they can offer the same high quality denim but at $60 instead of $250.
6. Styles don’t sell out.
I know this sound counter intuitive for a fashion brand, but Uniqlo doesn’t have a high stock turnover in terms of trend based clothing. They are a brand known for its limitless supply. Their focus is on easy-to-wear basic styles in lots of colours, so if you find something you love and want to buy it in another colour, chances are it’ll still be in stock in a few months time.
7. Easy to wear.
If you’ve ever left a store thinking that everything you tried on was either too trendy or see-through, or not quite right for your simple, classic taste, you will definitely find something to pick up at Uniqlo.
8. The designer collaborations.
Far from the crazy scenes we’ve witnessed at the Kate Moss for Topshop or Stella McCartney for Target collaborations, Uniqlo’s designer collaborations are a more sophisticated affair. Last year minimalist designer Jil Sandler designed a range for the retailer, labelled +J. Some styles sold out but many were still available three months after it launched, because their idea of limited styles is more than 50 or 100 units.
Take a look at some of the loveliness for sale in this gallery:
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Top Comments
We lived in Singapore and my husband loved Uniqlo because he could get slim cut clothes that fit him. He was a medium there. In Australia, they've altered the sizing so he's a small here, perhaps because the sizes go higher here for our larger frames...
Anyway, we are thrilled Uniqlo is in Melbourne - great for basics, fantastic kids clothes too. Prices seem a little higher than in Singapore but then that seems to happen with most things (Ikea was heaps cheaper in Singapore for same items compared to Australia).
Kak do you know what the Aus sizing is like for women? I'm about to order a sweater online I'm a size 8 here is that a Small for them? Also poster below has said the quality of the cashmere and wool is terrible - would you agree?
Actually, one chain from Europe that I thought would be awesome to have in Australia is not as cool as I thought anymore.
I am visiting Europe at the moment, and have visited United Colours of Benetton. And, my gosh, the sizing is ludicrous, and the chain hypocritical. They sprout on about being global and diverse in their marketing, but heaven forbid if you are bigger than a size 12! What is a size 12 in Australia is classified as "large", and well, that is as far as they go! Very disappointed. The last time I visited a Benetton store was in 1996. I was skinner then, so I may not have noticed, but now that I am older and have put on a few kgs, there was nothing I could buy!
Also, as I mentioned in a reply below, H&M is very overrated too. The product quality and range is very poor.
20 years ago European clothing was cool, because it was different to what you could buy locally, but now I can see how global the retail clothing industry has become since the last time I visited The Continent. Australia should have nothing to fear on the fashion front!