No one turns to UNIQLO for advanced clothes nor should they. The Japanese fast-fashion giant has built a big business on the basis of approachable basics and its seasonal collaborators understand the formula. For Fall/Winter 2022, his fifth anniversary with UNIQLO, JW Anderson honors that conceit without sacrificing the distinct "Britishness" of his ongoing partnership.
With a theme like "minimalism at play," JWA gives you an idea of what to expect from his latest UNIQLO collection. If you thought his FW22 lineup would provide anything other than pared-back puffer jackets, merino-knit polo shirts, and go-to washed jeans, you'd be sorely mistaken.
However, don't think that JWA is losing his flair for the fanciful: when he says "play," he means it.
Consider the pullover one-piece dress fitted with a collar and adjustable pull-tabs at the waist that allow the wearer to fuss with the gathering or the windproof fleece jacket patterned with blurred geometric shapes (a safe bet for the collection's singular must-have).
There are plenty of timeless staples to be had here, like the checked flannel shirts and the jersey sweatsuit comprised of a track jacket and trim trousers. But there are just as many slightly progressive items that take this simplified ethos and run with it.
Like he's done in previous seasons, JWA delivers a plethora of Fair Isle-inspired knit sweaters for FW22, encouraging wearers to mix their subtly statement layering pieces with striped socks for a pattern mélange, though you could just as easily mix with a textured wool coat or cropped harrington to affect the quiet sophistication of classic British casualwear.
The result is stylishly dorky, and I mean that in a good way. I mean, it's not an unfair way to classify JWA's personal wardrobe of uniform fleeces, collared shirts, and jeans. Never goes out of style but isn't bland. Minimalism at play, if you will.
JWA's Fall/Winter 2022 collection follows a string of big UNIQLO team-ups, including Helmut Lang, Marni and UNIQLO U, its ongoing line of elevated essentials masterminded by Christophe Lemaire. Each has their own flavor and each sells out with gusto, though they restock pretty quickly.
Still, if you wanna be the first person on the block with the new UNIQLO x JWA sweaters, you'll have to move quick when the collection launches October 14 in Japan.
