When UNIQLO and Ines de la Fressange released their first collaboration last year, fans of the Japanese retailer's practical designs and the Parisian fashion icon's unparalleled style were left waiting eagerly for the next drop. While it may have felt like a lifetime, the creative duo have now returned for their second partnership, announcing a selection of covetable apparel which celebrates some of the sartorial leaders of the 70s.
In keeping with the motif of Luxurious clothes, and beyond, this range of wardrobe essentials brings together Ines’ belief in designing clothes that all women can wear with comfort to reveal their beauty, and UNIQLO's LifeWear philosophy of providing innovative, high-quality clothing that is universal in design and comfort, and meets the needs of daily lifestyles.
Leading the way in inspiration, Ines looked to several trailblazing women of the 70s who she long admired as symbols of female independence and fashion. Among them are actress, songwriter, and model Jane Birkin and singer-songwriter Françoise Madeleine Hardy. Reflecting on her personal connection to the collection, Ines recalls that, “Back in the seventies, many women were determined to emancipate themselves from traditions. These liberated individuals took fashion and their lives in exciting new directions.”
Speaking to the enduring inspiration grounded in these pioneers of female freedom, this season's collection by UNIQLO and Ines de la Fressange is conceptualised through three principal styling themes. The first, is bohemian – championed through a variety of twist pleated skirts and dresses in paisley through polka dot prints as an ode to the free-spirited nature of the 70s. For the first time in the collaboration's history, the latest knitwear pieces from UNIQLO and Ines de la Fressange have been made with proprietary seamless 3D Knit technology, which offers outstanding comfort and are in vivid patterns.
The second theme is Neobourgeois, through 100% silk blouses and wrap dresses as wardrobe essentials for sophisticated women that can be paired with mouton-style jackets, long cardigans, and culottes for casual occasions. The third and final styling pillar is 'Mannish styling' – think classical tweed jackets, corduroy pants, oversized and boxy blazers – an approach that many women adopted in the 1970s.
The latest collection from UNIQLO and Ines de la Fressange will be available at UNIQLO’s Emporium, Chadstone and Mid City stores and through uniqlo.com/au from February 18.
