Over the last few years, Uniqlo has become a collaborative hit-making machine. The Japanese fashion company has long-boasted big-time partnerships with luxury designers like Christophe Lemaire (Uniqlo U) and JW Anderson, both of whom have been releasing seasonally for more than three years. But, more recently, Uniqlo has taken their partnership model, one used almost exclusively as a vehicle for luxury designers to deliver more accessible products, to a whole new level. In 2020, the brand reunited with the legendary German fashion designer, Jil Sander for several seasons of a J+ collection and, this year, they’ve partnered with Italian luxury brand, MARNI. The collection as a whole included more than 30 men’s and women’s apparel pieces, but the most popular piece by far has been the Uniqlo x MARNI Oversized Open Collar Shirt, which is this week’s StockX Pick of the Week.
The Uniqlo x MARNI Oversized Open Collar Shirt has the potential to be one of the summer’s most popular shirts. As far as design goes, both the blue and green colourways of this shirt feature printed graphics of handpainted MARNI Flower logos which call out playfully to the upcoming summer season. Material-wise, the shirt is made from a lightweight cotton poplin and it follows the season’s trends, delivering an oversized fit with a camp-collar construction. What really sets the Uniqlo x MARNI Oversized Open Collar Shirt apart from others like it on StockX is the relatively low price that it can be purchased for. Made available at the affordable retail price of £29.90, this Short Sleeve Shirt is now reselling on StockX for less than double its retail price, making it by far the least expensive camp collar shirt in our catalogue.
Uniqlo’s collaborative collection with MARNI is described on their website as a collection that “playfully explores the clash between simplicity and chaos.” For those unfamiliar with MARNI’s aesthetic and ethos, that may be a little confusing, but the luxury brand’s creative director Francesco Risso elaborates in an interview with i-D. He mentions specifically that “Uniqlo is a company that works in line with very strong codes of pragmatism, purity, minimalism – it’s very much about the every day and not overdoing the look”. On the other hand, he describes MARNI very differently, saying, “And then on the other hand, you have us — we’re basically in a continuous pursuit of chaos and fantasy.”
The collection itself, observed through that lens, does begin to come together. Uniqlo is well known for its wardrobe staples, their basics, their t-shirts, jeans, and jackets, most of which are very minimalist. This collaboration with MARNI is a departure from that, an eclectic adventure into a world of new proportions and colourful graphics and patterns where you otherwise might not have seen them. This has been MARNI’s speciality since the brand was taken over by Francesco Risso in 2016, the delivery of garments with heavily exaggerated proportions and bright, vivid colours, and patterns.
When asked about the spirit of MARNI in his interview with i-D, Francesco Risso said, “I always like to think about Marni [sic] as a place where you can find your own home, even amid the eclecticism.” From there, he elaborates, talking more about the collection with Uniqlo, and his hopes for it, “It’s not imposing anything, and I feel like that’s a step towards bringing people together, finding a way to connect people through a very human way of wearing things. It’s not about going against the body or being disruptive, it’s about being softer, being gentler.” For so many, the ideas wrapped up in luxury can feel incredibly exclusive, kept secret for the eyes of a privileged few. But through this collection with Uniqlo, Risso seems to have found a platform for delivering the ideas of being softer and gentler on a more accessible level.
This collaboration was delivered in the United States on May 26th, 2022, but received an Asia-specific release earlier in the month of May. For that reason, all apparel items from the Uniqlo x MARNI collection are available on StockX in both US and Asia-specific sizing. It may be best to purchase the sizing of the region that you live in as the garments may fit differently between the two options.
The Uniqlo x MARNI Oversized Open Collar Shirt is available on StockX below.
