subscribe to style file blog via RSSMinimalist Mania: +J Draws The Crowds
October 1, 2009 1:30 pm
Jil Sander’s highly anticipated collection for Uniqlo debuted this morning. At nine o’clock in Soho, while editors gathered for a pre-shopping event, there was a line that reached clear down to the store’s fast-fashion Broadway neighbor H&M. By all accounts, it’s still going strong. Meanwhile, in Paris, by the time the Japanese retailer’s first-ever European flagship opened its doors at noon, traffic was snarled all the way up the Boulevard Haussmann and the line snaked all the way down the Rue Scribe and around the block. (That’s a scene inside the Avenue de l’Opéra store pictured above.)
“I’m surprised all these people care so much about Jil Sander,” said one New York editor while exiting the Soho store. It’s a fair question, since Sander’s high-fashion line wasn’t really about exciting the masses. Nevertheless, the collection has received (and deserves) high praise for delivering on its promises of beautifully done, inexpensive fashion. We’re not naming names, but many past collaborations are great on paper but disappointing in reality. At any rate, don’t worry if you didn’t get down to a Uniqlo near you, Sander’s involvement with the brand is long-term, and it feels pretty good, to say the least, to have her back.
tags: +J, Jil Sander, Uniqlo
Jil was at the Soho store. Trying her own
By rados on 10/1/09 at 2:37 pmstyles and advising customers. She could not believe the long lines - Germans don’t do “lines”!
Best buys: the puffer coat, fitted cashmere sweaters, skinny jeans. pea coats. All pure Jil signature / fit at Uniqlo prices. Can’t wait for the Spring collection