With UNIQLO stores opening all over Southeast Asia, it only made sense for UNIQLO to collaborate with designers around the region for a UT project and 10 designers from five countries were selected based on the concept of, “Feel the SEA”. Designers from their respective regions introduced graphic T-shirts with unique designs, all demonstrating the power and inspiration from Southeast Asia.
For Malaysia, UNIQLO had chosen a leading figure in the Malaysian fashion scene, Joe Chia. Designers from other regions include MAE PANG, MASH-UP, OwnMuse, RÊVASSEUR, WSDM (Singapore) NIKICIO (Indonesia), GREYHOUND, PAINKILLER (Thailand) and MOBO (Philippines).
Joe Chia is now gaining significant reputation internationally and was also awarded, “Brilliant Malaysian” under the fashion category by Esquire magazine, “Best Menswear Designer” by Newman magazine and “Top 40 Under 40” by Prestige magazine in 2013.
“This collaboration with UNIQLO allows a niche label like JOE CHIA to be further relatable and accessible to the wider market. It aims to showcase a fusion of my label’s identity as a hyper-modern; monochromatic, and minimal with a twist; along with UT’s signature comfort and style,” said Joe Chia.
Satoshi Onoguchi, the Managing Director of UNIQLO (Malaysia) Sdn. Bhd. and UNIQLO (Singapore) Pte. Ltd., said, “It’s always a pleasure to collaborate with local designers, especially with a locally renowned designer such as Joe Chia. Through this collaboration, we hope to showcase just some of the unique talents from Malaysia and the SEA region to the world.”
All the graphic T-shirts in the “Feel the SEA” UT collection are priced at RM24.90 each and will be available in all UNIQLO stores in Malaysia from the end of November 2013.
