The Shophound

Collaboration Anticipation: UNIQLO's +J Spring Collection Set For Mid-January Launch

Those of you who have been breathlessly waiting for the next installment of UNIQLO's collaboration with the designer Jil Sander, +J, can mark your calendars and begin the countdown. A new installment, the Spring 2010 collection, will be available in the U.S. on Thursday,  January 14^th. This time, the company is planning a regional rollout for the collection , releasing it in Asia just a few days before Christmas on December 23^rd, in the UK on January 7^th and finally in France on the 20^th.
So far, no images have been released, but WWD reports that the collection will include, 'knitwear, jackets, shirts and other items in fabrics such as waterproof ultra-fine cottons, high tech-satins and “sumptuous wools.” The palette will feature white, ivory, pastel hues and “chalked out acids,” the company said.'
Of all the collaborations out there (and they seem to be increasing exponentially) regular readers know that this is one of our very favorites, and if last October's début is anything to go by, the lines will be long to get into the store on the first few days, so get there early.
If you are wondering why New York, London and Paris have to wait so long after the Asian stores, it is probably because the western stores have a separate production with different sizing. Some shoppers have discovered this as the SoHo location recently received replenishments in the smaller Japanese sizes (Check the hangtag. If it's in Japanese, size up.). As for the the fall collections, UNIQLO has begun to mark down a few remaining categories like Men's knits, and there appear to be plenty of coats left for Men and Women.
As for pictures, we'll have them up as soon as we get 'em.
UPDATE:
We have pictures! Here are behind the scenes shots of what looks like model Iselin Steiro and a male model with a sort of bowl cut who we can't quite identify (but surely someone out there can). No word on who's shooting. Anyway, this should satisfy you until the official campaign shots are released. See above and after the jump and thanks to some stellar UNIQLO PR. And here's the price list, which is pretty similar to Fall, and by that we mean extremely affordable.
UNIQLO Spring/Summer 2010 product price range
Outerwear, Coats & Jackets    $49.50 - $149.50
Bottoms                                     $39.50-$59.50
Shirts                                          $39.50
Dresses                                      $49.50-$99.50
Cut & Sewn                              $10.50-$49.50
Knitwear                                   $29.50-$129.50
Uniqlo's +J Spring-Summer Collection Set to Launch (WWD)
UNIQLO +J Official Site

Rogues Gallery/John Bartlett Collaboration Is A Hit As The Designer Bounces Back

You never know what's going to sell out first.
Since we missed John Bartlett's launch party last week for his collaboration with Rogues Gallery, we stopped by his boutique yesterday to check it out just in time to catch John selling the next-to-last union suit from the collection to a customer who was so pleased that he wore it right out of the store (under his clothes, of course).
Don't worry, there are still plenty of great t-shirts and accessories from the line left at the shop, including the "log carrier" that raised a few eyebrows and turns out to make a particularly luxurious zippered leather tote for those with less need for firewood. John told us that the collection has been such a success that he's planning to increase its frequency from a seasonal project to a new group appearing every couple of months.
Always up for a friendly chat, the designer put a good spin on the ending of his Claiborne men's collection, calling it a great learning experience. He admitted that even before he was involved, the line's prospects were dampened by a nervous, contracting retail market and ongoing friction between Liz Claiborne Inc. and retailers like Macy's whose support was crucial to success. There are still lots of great, extremely well priced items from the fall Claiborne line mixed in with his main collection at Bartlett's West Village boutique where he has had a busy season and can still be regularly found personally helping weekend customers. We have to say that having the designer himself choose one of his signature cable-knit scarves to match our outfit was a rare treat that you definitely won't find anywhere else.
Rogues Gallery for John Bartlett 143 Seventh Avenue South at Charles Street, West Village
Previously:
Collaboration Du Jour: John Bartlett Rebounds With Rogues Gallery: A First Look

Collaboration Du Jour: John Bartlett Rebounds With Rogues Gallery: A First Look

After the unfortunate repositioning of Liz Claiborne's labels, John Bartlett has wasted no time in finding new projects. The latest is a collaboration with Rogues Gallery's Alex Carleton for a collection that will be sold exclusively at Bartlett's West Village boutique starting this December.
For starters, the collection, to be called Rogues Gallery/John Bartlett, will include the sweet handcrafted leather gym bag pictured above, as well as Carleton's signature t-shirts in exclusive patterns (see Rooster & Berlin below), pique polo shirts and a black over-dyed union suit for frosty Winter nights. The extensive accessory collection will include, aside from the aforementioned bag (an excellent stocking stuffer for, perhaps, The Shophound), a leather log carrier, and bankers’ envelopes made from leather, silk screened canvas and vintage, recycled wools.
Carleton, who is also developing the L.L.Bean's Signature premium collection, has a New England vintage aesthetic that seems to be blending nicely with Bartlett's current rugged classic mode, so if we're lucky, this team-up could be an ongoing program. Thanks to John for these preview images. We're looking forward to seeing more soon.
 

Click images to enlarge

UNIQLO Alert: +J Is Back In Stock With A Surprise Delivery

As if we haven't written enough about UNIQLO this week, we wouldn't want to miss telling you that the SoHo flagship has received a surprise replenishment of the +J collection designed by Jil Sander direct from Japan to satisfy everyone who missed out on the best pieces last month.
The one caveat is that because the goods are from the Japanese stores, they are in smaller Japanese sizes which may be cut slightly differently.
Most people don't realize it, but UNIQLO has different production runs specifically cut for its New York, London and now Paris stores. To make your shopping easier, the store has posted handy size translation charts over the newly replenished +J racks (pictured above), and recommends careful trying on before you buy.
Back in the store are such long gone items as woven shirts for men and women, men's tailored jackets and pants. Many women's separates, knitwear and sold out outerwear pieces for both genders have also returned, so if you weren't quick enough to get what you wanted the first time, here's your second chance (especially if you are on the petite side).
The easiest way to discern the Japanese sized items from the Western ones? Check the hangtags. The Japanese ones will be mostly written in...you guessed it...Japanese!

Collaboration Anticipation: H&M Offers Jimmy Choo Preview Shopping for A Select Few

H&M's biggest designer collaboration of the year with Jimmy Choo is set to be released in less than two weeks, and the Swedish chain is giving a select few the opportunity to get their hand on the goods in advance without dealing with those pesky lines. The general public will be faced with some long overdue crowd control measures including time specific bracelets for the first 160 people in line to shop the shoe and accessory assortments and restrictions on buying more than one of the same item, but a lucky few will be allowed to shop in advance and sit back and chortle as they watch the hoi polloi fight over the last suede dress.
We noticed the pictured sign (click to enlarge) on H&M's SoHo doors this week. It gives instructions on how to register and win a preview shopping opportunity for the Jimmy Choo line. You may risk random text messages from H&M for the rest of your life, but what is that when compared to the opportunity to get your $299 thigh high leather stiletto boots before everyone else?
Winners will be announced on November 11th, so happy texting until then.

Collaboration Anticipation: Jean Paul Gaultier x Target Coming In March

If the glut of exclusive designer team-ups has become overwhelming, Target is showing no signs of letting up, announcing yesterday that Jean Paul Gaultier will be the third superstar designer after Alexander McQueen and Anna Sui to participate in the mass chain's Designer Collaborations program. Gaultier's Target collection will bow on March 7^th and be available through April 11^th of next year. As with his predecessors in the program, Gaultier has chosen a muse for the line: "The American Woman". It's a little more vague than the others, but given his inventive aesthetic, it would be asking a lot for the eccentric Parisian couturier to pin himself down to a single inspiration, anyway. The big change with this collection is that Target is taking a more exclusive distribution approach, with plans to sell the line in only 250 stores rather than the 600 that carried Sui's recent line. Does this suggest a smaller, possibly more expensive selection from Gaultier, or is the chain simply trying to drum up more excitement with scarcity? We'll know more in the coming months as details are bound to leak. So far, there's no word on a Manhattan pop-up boutique either, like the ones for McQueen and Sui, though we can't imagine the line being launched without it. By next March, however, Target should finally have a Manhattan store. Will we be seeing a big Gaultier party in East Harlem?
Jean Paul Gaultier Set for Target Collaboration (WWD)
Jean Paul Gaultier (Official Site)

Return To The Scene: +J Throws UNIQLO For A Loop

We hadn't been back to UNIQLO since Thursday's +J launch, so we quickly stopped in on Monday afternoon (no line) to see what was left.
The good news is there's still plenty of +J left even though the curtained off in-store shop is still teeming with enthusiastic customers and staff continually replenishes the shelves. While things seem relatively under control inside the curtains, just beyond the drapes, however, are more racks and trolleys piled with stock to replenish and discards from the dressing rooms. In short, it's a bit of a mess, but you can hunt through the backstock for your size yourself if you have the patience for rummageing. The lines at the registers remain surprisingly long for a Monday afternoon, and the entire staff seems a bit frazzled, furiously moving goods to the sales floor.
Not only is the Jil Sander designed collection an unqualified hit, but the halo effect on the rest of the store is in full effect with high traffic and the normally well stocked shelves now featuring empty gaps. An entire section of the lower level has been cordoned off and converted into a stock section for new deliveries, but so far, the store hasn't figured out a way to finesse replenishment more smoothly.
So if you think you missed out last week, you can rest assured that this was no blink-and-you've-missed-it H&M-style one-day event. You can now shop more leisurely without all the waiting in line to get in. We can't promise you that every item is still available in your size (or at all), but considering how much stock there appears to be, you have a better than even chance of finding some good stuff at least for the rest of the week.
Previously:
Collaboration Anticipation: UNIQLO's +J Débuts With Controlled Chaos

Collaboration Anticipation: UNIQLO's +J Débuts With Controlled Chaos

If you were thinking of taking a leisurely jaunt over to UNIQLO today, be prepared. The line currently stretches to Prince Street (and possibly beyond)
Thanks to the delightful folks at UNIQLO for allowing The Shophound a preferred entry to the store where we got the chance to browse in peace and quiet for a few minutes before vigorous shoppers began loading their arms with as much of the new Jil Sander designed +J label as they could carry to the dressing rooms.
UNIQLO's managers are carefully supervising the number of customers they are letting into the store at a time to avoid the sort of mad grabbing and elbow throwing one would encounter at H&M's annual designer collaboration launches. Additionally, they have printed special flyers informing shoppers that they will be permitted to buy only one piece per garment per style, presumably to discourage the sort of mass purchasing that fills eBay with goods within hours. While the huge flagship store could easily accommodate the entirety of the line, the +J collection is artfully encased inside a white pipe-and-drape enclosure, creating an ethereal boutique within the store on the main floor, full of staffers who were diligently attending personally to the early press arrivals. We spotted GQ Editor-in-Chief Jim Nelson making his choices with a personal attendant. A mob scene would have clearly disrupted the mood, so, unfortuately, it will be slow going waiting in line. 
Oh, and the clothes! The production quality looks every bit as pristine and elegant as the samples did in UNIQLO's showroom, which is good news. Fabrics are pretty basic, as we have noted before, so what we have here is classic Sander sportswear as opposed to the more dramatic runway looks or advanced, experimental fabrics the designer is known for. Down items looked particularly appealing including a hooded parka with a dark denim exterior. Stretch cashmere sweaters, among the more expensive items at $149.00, were also especially tempting. If these clothes could speak, however, they would be telling The Shophound to go on a diet, so be warned. It's not that we are morbidly obese, but the sizes run small. Men's trousers, for example, top out at an alarmingly tiny size 34, with a not very large "Large" being the top size available in other items. Hopefully this will change in the future, but we understand that the women's sizes correspond in a similar manner. We made it out of there with a couple of beautiful shirts  for $39.50 each, (in a special +J bag, of course) though we could have been encouraged to buy each one in the line.
What will be left in a few days? Who knows?
Hopefully there will be replenishments coming, but we can't promise anything.
Overall, the collection looks like a ringing success, and totally worth a good bit of tedious line-waiting as long as you are slender of physique —so hipsters have at it!
UNIQLO +J while supplies last at the UNIQLO Flagship, SoHo

More pictures after the jump

T — 1 Day And Counting: UNIQLO's +J Designed By Jil Sander Launches Tomorrow

Just a small reminder that UNIQLO's +J label, the one created by German designer Jil Sander exclusively for the Japanese chain, will be available tomorrow morning, October 1st at 10 AM. The SoHo flagship doors will open at 10 AM so we strongly recommend lining up as early as possible. We don't know how long the stock will last, but it's not likely be too long.
Good luck to all.
UNIQLO +J  546 Broadway between Houston & Prince Streets, SoHo

Collaboration Update: Sonia Rykiel To Spend Holidays With H&M

WWD tells us that the ultimate Parisienne, Sonia Rykiel, will provide H&M's next designer collaboration collection, appearing in stores only weeks after the chain's upcoming Jimmy Choo collaboration launch. The retailer's first co-branded lingerie line with the renowned French designer will hit the floors at 1,500 of the Swedish chain's stores on December 5^th for Holiday selling, to be followed by an accessories and knitwear line, described as "iconic", for women and girls for Spring 2010. The Spring collection will début in a much more restricted 250 doors worldwide on February 20^th.
In a first for H&M, the lingerie line will also be made available outside of the chain. Rykiel's devoted cult of customers will not have to brave the masses at the chain's branches, as the collection will also be sold through Rykiel's own boutiques around the world.
H&M Taps Rykiel As Its Next Guest Designer (WWD)