It seems only yesterday when Uniqlo successfully expanded into this sunny island of ours, creating a furious frenzy among fashionistas with its affordable high-street fashion apparels. And today, we have our very own MediaCorp artistes, Pierre Png and Rebecca Lim featured in a series of print ads for the 2011 Fall & Winter Collection.

Touted as Japan’s No.1 Casual Wear Brand, Uniqlo definitely did not disappoint with its new range of innovative products for this season. While the idea of having fashionable winter wear that compliments the body seems so unreal, the Uniqlo 2011 Fall & Winter Collection can assure you it’s not.

Setting its feet to conquer the world with its “Made For All” motto, Uniqlo’s clothing is made to be universal, going beyond nations and any bounding differences.

Now, how does the Fall & Winter Collection fit into the demographics of Singapore?

As Mr Masahiro Endo, the Product Marketing and Communication manager of Uniqlo Co. Ltd puts it, “Our idea is that we don’t have a specific product for Singapore – everything fits our motto. We know that there’s a lot of rain here, the air conditioning here is pretty strong, and a lot of Singaporeans travel in and out of the country. We don’t think Singapore is very different from any other countries in our project.”

During its first product showcase in Singapore, UrbanWire learns about the latest 4 innovations – HeatTech, UJ, Uniqlo Innovation Project and Ultra Light Down. Warning – looks are deceiving.

 

1) HeatTech

HeatTech, also known as “Heat-generating clothing”, is a new Japan technology developed by Uniqlo and Torey Industries. The fabric used absorbs moisture from the body and generates heat into the liquid particles, and traps air between the fibre to prevent heat from escaping.

Despite its heat retention and heat generation ability, the HeatTech fabric is surprisingly thin, soft and stretchy. It promises to allow warmth to be spread evenly, and contains an unusual antibacterial agent, which helps to control odors.

The HeatTech range of clothing includes camisoles, leggings, T-shirts to even accessories like caps and scarves.

 

2) UJ

Thoughtfully designed to battle the cold, the Women’s HeatTech Jeans and Men’s Windproof Jeans provide a shrewd way for one to keep warm.  The range of jeans looks and feels like any other pair of quality jeans – no added thickness or uncomfortable lining in a bid to maintain body temperature.

Women’s HeatTech Jeans

Ladies, put away your mini-skirt and leggings combo during the wet season. With the HeatTech Skinny Fit Straight Jeans, you can still afford to look curvy and sleek while keeping yourselves warm.

By blending HeatTech yarns into denim and thus keeping warm air with a raised fabric, the Women’s HeatTech Jeans helps to retain heat even beyond the knees. Also, milk protein is blended into the material to help retain moisture and provide a soft touch on the skin.

Men’s Windproof Jeans

Coated with a transparent film, these Men’s Windproof Jeans prevent wind from permeating through the material, while keeping the original feel and softness of denim. This is only achieved through repeated experiments to prevent having a stiff structure to the product. Similar to the Women’s HeatTech jeans, a raised fabric is placed inside every pair of jeans to retain heat.

 

3) Uniqlo Innovation Project

Uniqlo Innovation Project (UIP) features the Block Tech Mountain Parka, which is able to block wind and keep water from entering the material. An on-site experiment was conducted to showcase the feature. Indeed, it repelled water and was easy to clean too. Also featured in this project would be the Block Tech Long Sleeve Bonding Hoodie, which has a revolutionary easily detachable fastener. Swift and easy, this hoodie would make the perfect rush-out-of-house piece.

 

4) Ultra Light Down

 

Photo courtesy of Foo Xi Yuan.

The Down Ultra Light Jacket from the Ultra Light Down range is definitely a favorite among the traveling crowd, especially the ladies. The slight puffiness of the jacket makes them look adorably chic; it’s not too inflated to make one look clumsy and shapeless. It also comes in the form of a vest, and a myriad of colours to choose from, for both genders.

It’s unbelievable that the thin jacket does a wonderful job at keeping you snugly warm. In fact, it’s the seemingly non-existent down and feather which provide the warmth and softness of the product.

On top of that, when fully compressed and kept in a drawstring case, the jacket only takes up less than 1/3 of a standard-sized luggage!

The Uniqlo 2011 Fall & Winter Collection will be available in all Uniqlo (Singapore) stores but the UIP products are only available at Somerset@313, starting from Oct 22.

 

Stand a chance to win an eco-friendly Uniqlo tote bag and 2011 Fall & Winter Collection catalogues!

Contest details:

Email contests@hypesingapore.com with your name and contact details on which is your favorite of the 4 innovations (HeatTech, UJ, Uniqlo Innovation Project & Ultra Light Down).

Contest ends Nov 4.