Designed for layering, we speak to the British designer on her Fall/Winter 2023 womenswear collection Uniqlo : C which features 30 trans-seasonal pieces.

For fashion aficionados, <a href="https://www.lofficielusa.com/fashion/clare-waight-keller-runway-moments-givenchy-chloe-couture" title="10 Most Memorable Clare Waight Keller Runway Moments" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Clare Waight Keller</a> is not an unfamiliar name. The acclaimed British designer has worked at <a href="https://www.lofficielusa.com/fashion/jung-kook-calvin-klein-spring-2023-campaign-global-ambassador-bts" title="Blackpink's Jennie, BTS' Jungkook &amp; More Go Grungey In Calvin Klein's Fall 2023 Campaign" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Calvin Klein</a>, <a href="https://www.lofficielusa.com/fashion/guccio-gucci-designer-biography" title="Gucci's Latest High Jewellery Collection Celebrates the Four Seasons" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Gucci</a> and <a href="https://www.lofficielusa.com/fashion-week/chloe-fall-winter-2023-collection-looks-runway-photos-gabriela-hearst" title="Gabriela Hearst Officially Confirmed to Exit Chlo&eacute;" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Chlo&eacute;</a>. More recently, she was <a href="https://www.lofficielusa.com/fashion-week/every-look-givenchy-spring-summer-2023-runway-photos-pfw" title="Exclusive Interview: Catching Up with Thai Actress, Prim Chanikarn" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Givenchy</a>&rsquo;s first female artistic director for three years, succeeding <a href="https://www.lofficielsingapore.com/fashion/riccardo-tisci-first-bag-for-burberry-tb-bag" title="Check Out Riccardo Tisci's First Bag for Burberry" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Riccardo Tisci</a>. She was also the brain behind <a href="https://www.lofficielusa.com/fashion/meghan-markle-2023-invictus-games-outfits-fashion-prince-harry" title="Meghan Markle Was a Fashion Darling at Prince Harry's 2023 Invictus Games" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Meghan Markle</a>&rsquo;s wedding dress for the <a href="https://www.lofficielusa.com/fashion/most-popular-celebrity-wedding-dresses-meghan-markle-hailey-bieber" title="We Dissect Meghan Markle's Royal Wedding Look" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Royal Wedding</a> to <a href="https://www.lofficielusa.com/pop-culture/young-prince-harry-real-father-last-name" title="Your First Look at Prince Harry's New Netflix Show 'Heart of Invictus'" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Prince Harry</a> back in 2018. But now, the luxury designer has begun her first foray into an entirely new world, collaborating with <a href="https://www.lofficielsingapore.com/fashion/j-w-anderson-uniqlo-spring-summer-2018-collection-release-date-lookbook-20-april-orchard-central" title="J.W. Anderson x Uniqlo is Back For Round 2" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Uniqlo</a> for her first collection with the Japanese casualwear giant.
Ahead, we speak to the designer on how she conceptualized <a href="https://www.lofficielusa.com/fashion/uniqlo-c-clare-waight-keller-collection-every-look-fashion-collaboration" title="Every Look From UNIQLO : C &mdash; Clare Waight Keller's Newly Unveiled Collaboration" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Uniqlo : C</a>, and how her signature design ethos manifests in the 30-piece collection. She even put her own spin on the viral round mini bag from Uniqlo, as seen on the fashion girlies of TikTok.&nbsp;

L'O: Tell us more about how the Uniqlo : C collection came about and what led you to take on the project.&nbsp;
Clare Waight Keller: This <a href="https://www.lofficielsingapore.com/fashion/loro-piana-launches-special-collection-collaboration-hyun-bin-korean-actor" title="Loro Piana Launches A Special Collection in Collaboration with Hyun Bin" target="_blank" rel="noopener">collaboration</a> started very organically. As we worked on this collaboration, we felt very strongly that it was a story, and that perhaps it could develop into its own label. Another deciding factor in my involvement in this project was the ability to create a <a href="https://www.lofficielsingapore.com/fashion/blackpink-jennie-kim-fronts-calvin-klein-exclusive-capsule-collection" title="Blackpink's Jennie Fronts Calvin Klein's New Capsule Collection" target="_blank" rel="noopener">capsule collection</a>. I have never had my own brand. I've always worked for other designer brands where I've very much been someone who has dived deep into the DNA and into the aesthetics and the ethos of that brand, often quite heritage companies or companies with a very long history or founder. And so, for the first time, I was really going to be working solo on my own with my own idea of what I wanted to create and express myself. This became the chance for me to work on a collection from my own archive and my own personal opinion of effortless and classic style.&nbsp; 
L'O: What has the collaboration process with Uniqlo been like for you? How is it different from working with luxury fashion houses and how did you approach those differences?&nbsp;
CWK: Usually at luxury houses, we&rsquo;re racing through two or three seasons and then on to the next. It was a full six months of just working on 30 pieces, all the way from doing the different fabric trials to doing up to five fittings on things, which was not the norm. The entire design and production process is checked and checked again and again before the products are displayed in the store, and the craftsmanship is truly meticulous. So with UNIQLO : C I was able to check the entire process myself.

L'O: How do your British design sensibilities work with Uniqlo&rsquo;s Japanese casualwear style?&nbsp;
CWK: The project started with me looking at British fashion and the mix-and-match way people dress here, particularly in London. It&rsquo;s a real melting pot of styles. So I spent a lot of time people-watching, on Portobello Road or at farmer&rsquo;s markets or along the South Bank. I have been known to secretly snap pictures of people&rsquo;s outfits. And I always look through my own library&mdash;I must have about 2,000 books&mdash;and an archive of magazines. I love flipping through 1960s and 1970s Nova and vintage Italian Vogue.&nbsp;
For UNIQLO : C, I wanted to bring a certain nonchalance to the fit, so I worked with the same pattern cutter on every single garment to balance the shoulder or ensure the lining was sitting correctly. These are often subtle adjustments, but they require fine workmanship. Adjusting an armhole on a jacket or adding a drawstring to a dress might sound like a small thing, but those are the details that create that sense of casual loucheness.&nbsp;

L'O: As the Uniqlo : C collection will be released globally, how do you think the pieces from this collection will transition through different seasons and weather conditions?&nbsp;
CWK: Since Uniqlo has an enormous global audience, both in Asia and the West we are designing and dressing for so many different temperatures around the world and this is a really important factor in creating clothes today which I never anticipated before. All the elements that I am creating for this collection are about these timeless, almost non-seasonal, all-year-round pieces that can be layered at different times of year to create different wear abilities. So I might have a lightweight cotton blouse that you can layer with a cashmere sweater before layering with a nylon jacket, and then on top of that, you can put on a <a href="https://www.lofficielsingapore.com/fashion/burberry-womens-clothing-the-history-behind-the-brand-iconic-trench-coat" title="The Iconic Appeal of a Burberry Trench Coat" target="_blank" rel="noopener">trench coat</a>, and all these layers work together. I think that was one of the most important aspects of the idea of this first collection, that there was this ability to have a completely multifunctional wardrobe. 
L'O: What is your vision for the Uniqlo : C label?&nbsp;
CWK: What we want to achieve is a timeless style. The item that particularly symbolizes this is the trench coat. Overall, I am aiming for something that I would want to wear for a long period of time, with a sense of softness and feminine elements that I am known for. Color is also very important. The Fall/Winter collection not only combined neutral colors such as white, black, and grey, but also combined a variety of colors, which I think proved that they complement each other, resonate with each other and can be coordinated well.&nbsp;

L'O: What else can we expect from you and the UNIQLO : C label in the future?&nbsp;
CWK: I cannot confirm future plans for now, but Uniqlo and I really hope to continue working together!

Exclusive Interview With Clare Waight Keller on Her Uniqlo Capsule Collection

L'OFFICIEL USA December 2024 - Julianne Moore Cover

Exclusive Interview With Clare Waight Keller on Her Uniqlo Capsule Collection

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