(Photo credit: Uniqlo)
The collaboration between Jil Sander and Uniqlo had been the talk of the town for months. Finally the line, +J, hit Uniqlo’s SoHo store in New York exactly half a month ago on October 1. Since the crazy crowds on the first few days were too much for me to handle, I waited til the mania cooled down last week and walked in the store one night to see exactly what kind of future +J has brought. Situated in the middle of the store on the first floor, the collection was surrounded by floor-to-ceiling white sheets. The garments were very typical of Jil Sander: shades of black, white, gray, navy blue, and deep purple; simple cutting; minimal design; quality fabric. Now, the reactions to +J have been very different. Some think it’s boring, cliché, monotonous. Others, like myself, think it’s probably what Sander and Uniqlo had intended — to produce a collection that is classic, timeless, and everlasting. If you want something chic, trendy, and fashionable, +J would most likely disappoint you. If you are looking for something that doesn’t go out of style even after ten years, then yes, the future is here, right now, with +J.