I very rarely attend international brands events in Singapore.
With my niche focus on independent designers, and the fact these brands have massive marketing machines and the whole blogosphere to promote them – I’m going to struggle to add anything of value if I cover them on this blog.
However, last Friday I decided to break the rule and go to the UNIQLO UT pop up launch party which is part of a global pop up series by the brand, stopping in Tokyo, Taiwan, London and NYC among other cities around the world. The UTs are a collection of t-shirts which are ‘used as media for modern expression inspired by pop culture and collaborations with companies worldwide’ which UNIQLO as started producing and will be running and changing on seasonal basis.
Apart from this interesting concept for UTs (who wouldn’t like the funky take on regular t-shirts?), the reason I was interested was the fact they have collaborated with Noise Singapore - the local platform for emerging creative artists - to produce a range of t-shirts specifically for the local market. Moreover, the proceedings from these sales go to Transmission, an experimental incubatory platform organised by PHUNK - one of Singapore's leading creative collaboratives to mentor young people from various creative disciplines.
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| Loved the display of flying tees at the event!!! |
A gesture like this from big mass-market giant like UNIQLO s definitely something worth noting as it is in a way contributing back to the local fashion scene which definitely needs a push to be known to the mainstream customer.
The event itself was very interesting as well. From performances from local bands to introducing the young Noise artists who spoke briefly about their designs was refreshing. Add to that the cool UT Camera app which kept everyone entertained, complimentary t-shirts and a good crowd and you get a young and cool vibe which incorporated as much local flavor as it possibly could.
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| UNIQLO x Noise Singapore limited tees for sale!!! |
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| Oh yes, we got to pick some tees too :-) everyone was busy shopping!!! |
Ly Yeow, Joyce Lee, Audrey Leong, Qi Xuan and Candice Phang are the Noise artists whose t-shirt designs were sold at the event alongside the huge range of international designs inspired by pop culture. From David Bowie to Keith Haring, Disney and Lulu Guinness, the tees couldn’t be more varied and had something for everyone indeed.
While the pop up shop which was set for the weekend at Mohammad Sultan road is now over, most of these t-shirts are available at the UNIQLO hops around town (prices starting at S$16.90 for the international collections and S$15 for the local Noise series).
So next time you’re trawling in the mall and looking for a comfy yet stylish t-shirt to add to your ‘lazy’ outfit collection, pop by UNIQLO nd check out what they’ve got. The fact they are giving something back to the local creative scene makes them a cut above the rest and let’s face it, the t-shirts are quite cool as well!
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| Local artist Candice Phang with her t-shirt design for UNIQLO |
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| Ly Yeow... |
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| And Qi Xuan! |
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My favourite designs were from the Keith Haring collection! Obviously as he is
one of the artists I admire so much!!!! |
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| A Tee from the National Geographic collection |
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| And the ultimate pop art icon Andy Warhol! |
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At the event chilling out with great company: Fashion personality and stylist Daniel Boey,
and my gorgeous friend and DFW co-host Yvette King of Tanjong Bazaar! |
