At least one company is feeling bullish about the American market. Uniqlo, the Japanese retailer with a store currently in Soho, is opening its largest flagship yet, a vast 89,000-square-foot space at 53rd Street and Fifth Avenue. Come Friday, when the sleek glass doors are open to the public, expect crowds to mob the store [...]

Mugler creative director and Lady Gaga stylist Nicola Formichetti has had a big past couple of days. Last week, he set up shop downtown with his pop-up concept store, Nicola’s; yesterday, he hosted a presentation for nine emerging Chinese designers in an effort to celebrate international talent; this afternoon, Formichetti (who has worked with Uniqlo [...]

Amy Winehouse’s collections for Fred Perry will continue, WWD reported today. When the singer died last month, Fred Perry hit the “pause” button on the collection, but the Winehouse family would like the remaining two collections she created to be released. [WWD]Model Petra Nemcova isn’t keeping her wedding dress designer a secret. The bride-to-be, who [...]

Uniqlo, like its fellow fast-fashion megaliths H&M and Target, has a long history of collaborating with designers; its Designer Invitation Project brings together wide-ranging talents together under one umbrella label. The latest additions to the Japanese retailer’s guest-star roster are Charlotte Ronson, Vena Cava, and Costello Tagliapietra, whose six-piece capsules debut this Spring.For Ronson’s line, [...]

It has of course been an intense few days here in Japan since Friday’s earthquake set off a series of devastating events. After a weekend of feeling helpless, and mental and emotional shock from marathon updates from TV news, Twitter, Facebook, and NikoNikoDouga, today Tokyo residents attempted to get back to the Monday grind. Small [...]

Form March 1 through 10, Chanel and Colette are joining forces on a pop-up store located in an industrial garage on Colette’s block, Rue Saint-Honoré. In addition to Chrome Hearts customized bags and graffiti handbags—a nod to Karl Lagerfeld’s longtime affection for the brand—the space will sport a nail bar, cupcake stand, and music by [...]

Michelle Obama’s Alexander McQueen dress at a state dinner recently stuck in the craw of some American designers, who chastised the First Lady for failing to promote U.S. brands and industry. She sidestepped the controversy at last night’s State of the Union address: Mrs. O chose Rachel Roy for the occasion (left). [WSJ]This morning in [...]

Jil Sander’s latest +J collection for Uniqlo hit the label’s New York store today, as anyone who’s been through Soho likely already knows—lines snaked down the block this morning, and are reported to be over an hour long even now. Worth the wait? You tell us. But with the covetable collection we previewed back in [...]

Here’s a basic rule for family contentment: Don’t play favorites with your kids. So when Japan’s Fast Company—the parent corporation of Uniqlo as well as the French labels Comptoir des Cotonniers (which sells sportswear basics) and Princesse Tam Tam (lingerie)—decided to throw the former a birthday bash, they threw the others into the mix, too. [...]

Jil Sander’s pulled a coup with her latest collection for +J, her affordably priced Uniqlo line. In a season full of great coats, Sander may have created some of the best—at a fraction of what the other guys will be charging. The Fall +J collection—which marks the year anniversary of the line—hits stores October 7, [...]