Uniqlo and Christophe Lemaire Announce Plans to Make Their Partnership Permanent

Uniqlo just brought on Cristophe Lemaire as the artistic director for one of its new lines.

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Complex Original

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Following the success of their collaborations, Uniqlo has announced that designer Christophe Lemaire will be joining the Japanese fast-fashion brand as an artistic director. Lemaire will design a new affordable line called "Uniqlo U," which will be unveiled during Paris Couture Week in July. He will also work with the Japanese brand's newly established Uniqlo Paris R&D Center. 

The former Hermés creative director says the new line will be "elevated basics," similar to Uniqlo's popular and industry-standard-setting  +J collaboration with Jil Sanders. "But U is a little more democratic," Lemiare told Business of Fashion. "The biggest issue was to design things that are essential enough to be timeless, and understood by everyone. Our ambition is to fill the gap between what’s fashion and what’s ‘normal.’ I know the word ‘normcore’ is overused, but there’s something about normality I find very interesting—how do you make it super normal but refined and cool and desirable?"

Uniqlo and Lemaire first teamed up last year to release a limited-edition men's and women's collection for Fall 2015 that included "creative, comfortable everyday garments." After the anticipated collection quickly sold out, the brands extended their partnership for Spring/Summer 2016. 

The new Uniqlo U line, which will include menswear and womenswear, shoes, and leather accessories, will be more accessible since it will be stocked at all of the retailer's 1,774 stores starting this fall. Even with this new role, Lemaire will continue to design for his namesake brand. 

Over the years, Uniqlo has gained a reputation for tapping top-level talent like Lemaire. It has previously worked with the likes of former Cloak designerAlexander Plahkov, Michael Bastian, Nigo, and Pharrell Williams

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