With Uniqlo, luxury alumna Clare Waight Keller brings good design to all

It was a classic case of right place, right time that led to luxury fashion designer Clare Waight Keller inking what industry players consider her most surprising job contract to date - creative director at Japanese mass apparel brand Uniqlo.

- Amanda Chai

After all, the 55-year-old Briton has had an illustrious career designing for the likes of Ralph Lauren and Gucci, and was most recently top dog at French fashion houses Chloe and Givenchy.

High-street retailer Uniqlo, which rejects the label of fast fashion, was coming up just as she found herself at a career crossroads. She left her artistic director post at Givenchy in 2020 to take a two-year break that coincided with the Covid-19 pandemic, which led to deep reflection on her part in the industry.

“I had seen where fashion had been in the past two decades — and I had an amazing experience - but I wondered, how would we come out of this pandemic?”

The casualisation of life - from taking Zoom meetings on the street to the relaxing of clothes and formal attire — had forever changed things, she said. “So, when I got the call to meet Uniqlo, I thought, ‘This is it. This is the future-”

Speaking to a small group of international press at Uniqlo’s LifeWear event in New York City in September, Waight Keller is poised but down to earth, dressed in her latest designs - a Uniqlo : C navy double-breasted blazer and matching trousers. You can get the ensemble for under $200 - an otherwise impossible price point for a designer of her pedigree.

Fashion is going through a big shift at the moment, she said, alluding to waning interest in luxury amid the global economic slowdown.

“More than ever, people are looking for beautiful, affordable options. And I think Uniqlo, over the last two decades, has established itself as a brand which not only focuses on quality, but also great design and great collaborations.”