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Here’s a phrase that will have you tapping your double-monks like it’s 2010 again: Uniqlo’s collaboration with Jil Sander, formally known as +J, is back, baby!
The full look book released today shows Sander and Uniqlo haven’t lost a beat since they last collaborated a full decade ago. Jil Sander herself has always been the high priestess of minimalism, and even if she hasn’t been at the helm of her eponymous line since 2014, her designs have always made a dreamy match for Uniqlo, which is best known for basics pared down to their most essential elements. In 2014, as Uniqlo released a greatest-hits album of the +J collection, we called their partnership the Japanese retailer’s “best collaboration of all time.” The collection worked so well because Sander was able to offer her perfectly done button-ups and well-tailored suits at Uniqlo prices (read: figures most of us could actually afford). The beauty of praying so devoutly at the church of minimalism is that the collaboration looks just as good in 2020 as it did in 2010.
The new collection includes more of the same—clothes as simple in conception and execution as a plate of ceviche, or a black Sharpie, or a Band-Aid. There is a navy blue blazer that will fit nicely over the chair you Zoom from until you can wear it out again to that white-tablecloth spot. A pair of chalk-stripe trousers begs to be worn, even if only on the couch. A wool chore coat will look just as nice this fall as it will next, which is of the utmost importance when you’re buying clothes in our very locked-down present. A sleek bomber with a zip-up pocket on the sleeve is one of the relatively edgier standouts. But, really, all the clothes hit you like a refreshing breeze—there is a sweater in a nice shade of almost-cerulean, a totally normal-guy topcoat, and a ribbed zip-up sweater. “I set out to define the global modern uniform with this in mind: Clothes should be long-lasting and enduring,” Sander said in a press release. “They should serve the wearer and give her or him the energy and self-assurance which is so much needed in our global reality.”
With this new +J collection—all of which drops on November 12—it’s easy to understand its wide and massive appeal. There’s something refreshing about some nice sweaters, jackets, and button-ups. These aren’t Crocs made cool through multiple extended stays at irony island, designer-grade face masks, or even super-expensive luxury fashion. They’re just really good clothes—how nice is that?
