khaleej times Friday, December 10, 2010
fashion
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Some partnerships, like marriages, last a lifetime. Others, unfortunately, sour leading to a messy, acrimonious dissolution. For designer Jil Sander, a sour dissolution at Prada led to a harmonious partnership at Uniqlo
Stephanie Rivers
T
The bonus point? The clothes are priced reasonably, allowing everyone to have Sander’s minimalist signature, not at haute couture prices
hese days, Jil Sander has found her design nirvana in the form of fast retailing giant Uniqlo — the Japanese answer to H&M — so much so that she has renewed her contract with the company indefinitely, a welcomed agreement on all sides. Fast retailing is a different approach to clothing design for this well-known, hard-to-please designer with a penchant for minimalism, sculpture and architecture. Her design aesthetic has not changed. There are the monastic influences, quality tailoring, master cuts, monochromatic colour schemes and effortless and simplistic shapes, which retain a Japanese heart. However with this partnership, unlike in her previous one, Sander is given complete freedom to create and collaborate, and sales figures for her line, + J, are bearing out the fruit of that decision. The line is chock full of everyday basics — made fast and made well. The true bonus point? That they are priced reasonably, allowing everyone to have Sander’s minimalist signature, just not at haute couture prices. Many of the signature pieces seem plucked right out of Sander’s own private closet. Often the camera-shy designer has been photographed wearing her + J pieces — the crisp Peter Pan collar shirt, the long navy overcoat and the slim-fit pinstripe pants. The reception for Sander in Japan has been very warm, so much so that the German designer was awarded the Designer of the Year award from the Fashion Editors Club of Japan at a gala dinner. Sander has been quoted in the press as saying, “I try as much as possible to give you a great basic product and what comes out, I feel, is really amazing.” One of the greatest lessons it seems the designer has learned is that there are lower-priced fabrics — high-tech cottons, cashmere and silks — that can be used to produce amazing quality clothing. Of course, Uniqlo is not the only company that understands the impact that a high-profile, high-end designer can bring to their brand. H&M is one of the best examples of the fast retailing landscape and how profitable the right collaboration partners can be. Like Sander’s + J, H&M has gone from strength to strength through collaborations with Lanvin, Cavalli, McCartney and Comme des Garçons. Unlike H&M, Uniqlo recognises the continued success of growing the + J brand slowly and the importance of having Sander on board indefinitely. Why was this partnership the match made-in-design heaven? Perhaps Sander is mellowing with age and learnt a bittersweet lesson with Prada. Or perhaps it is simpler still: that the brand actually listens to her and understands the big picture. Whatever the cause, Sander, Uniqlo and the + J brand seem to be on the long track to design happiness and continued brand nirvana.
What’s in store Evian by Issey Miyake FOr THOSE of you who think art and commerce cannot happily co-exist together, clearly you have not seen Evian’s designer water bottle series. The iconic water bottles, with a premium price tag, began in 2007 with the first ‘fashion’ bottle, the Ice Queen, being designed by couture designer Christian La Croix, followed by Jean Paul Gaultier and the third by designer Paul Smith. The fourth, and current, design incarnation, by Japanese designer Issey Miyake, launched with great fanfare here in Dubai at Mall of Emirates, with a phenomenal bottle display depicting
three Alpine mountains, a homage to the origins of Evian water — where the water is still sourced. Miyake’s design, a lone flower with one leaf and a long stem, showcases the designer’s signature minimalist style of pared down beauty and origami pleating. Issey pays homage to his Pleats Please clothing by illustrating the flower’s petals and its leaf with pleated lines. Like his Pleats Please stores, the bottle is stark, yet beautiful in its simplicity. The new bottle approach, beginning with last year’s Paul Smith rendition of clear glass with coloured stripes and now
Miyake’s, has taken the bottle designs in a more youthful and lighter direction, a welcomed change. The original designer bottles, albeit creative, were weighted in fashion references starting with La Croix’s full couture clad ice queen and then JPG’s crystal water droplets and the frosted snowflake design. The new Miyake design will have two versions: one sold exclusively in Issey Miyake stores and online at www. evian.com, while the second variation will be available in gourmet stores and select retailers. — Stephanie Rivers
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