Fashion People Podcast — “Gee Thanks, It’s From Uniqlo”

Host: Lauren Sherman
Guest: Lauren Collins (Paris correspondent, The New Yorker)
Release Date: December 12, 2025

Episode Overview

This episode of Fashion People features Lauren Sherman in conversation with Lauren Collins, the Paris correspondent for The New Yorker. The discussion centers on Collins’ recent deep dive into Uniqlo — exploring the Japanese retailer’s sweeping global influence, the unique “lifewear” philosophy, Uniqlo’s approach to design and innovation, and the paradoxes of its marketing, collaborations, and digital experience. The episode offers valuable insider context for anyone interested in how Uniqlo is quietly but rapidly redefining everyday fashion worldwide.

Table of Contents

1. Introducing Lauren Collins and Uniqlo (03:43–09:10)
2. Uniqlo’s Sizing Dilemmas and Global Expansion (06:32–09:10)
3. Why Write About Uniqlo? The IKEA Parallel and Company Profile (11:33–13:43)
4. Uniqlo: Identity, Scale, and the ‘Universal Donor’ of Fashion (16:13–19:52)
5. The Lifewear Philosophy and Technical Product Superiority (19:52–23:45)
6. Product Tidbits: Merino Polo, HeatTech, and E-commerce Woes (23:45–27:46)
7. The Enigma of Lifewear and Uniqlo’s Earnestness (27:46–29:37)
8. Positioning in Europe vs. US, ‘Universal Donor’ in Practice (29:37–33:42)
9. Competing with Amazon, Walmart, and the Value Proposition (34:44–39:42)
10. Collaborations: Why So Many Star Designers? (39:42–46:22)
11. Impact for Designers and Luxury’s Shifting Meaning (46:22–47:47)
12. Closing Thoughts and Recommendations (47:47–48:48)

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1. Introducing Lauren Collins and Uniqlo (03:43–09:10)

• Lauren Collins is The New Yorker’s Paris correspondent, with a background in fashion journalism (applying both a words- and image-focused approach).
• Collins recently authored an institutional profile of Uniqlo for The New Yorker.
• Playful banter about breakfast highlights the informality and relatability of the discussion.

“The reason I know so much about Uniqlo is because I wrote a big kind of institutional profile of the company for the New Yorker.”
— Lauren Collins (09:11)

Notable Moment

• Lauren Sherman shares an anecdote about making cinnamon sugar toast for her son, setting a casual, personal tone.

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2. Uniqlo’s Sizing Dilemmas and Global Expansion (06:32–09:10)

• Discussion of Uniqlo’s complicated sizing, rooted in Japanese sizing standards. For example, popular items like the “50 Colors” sock only start at a European 39 — frustrating for smaller-footed shoppers.
• U.S. offerings above XL are often only available online and can be hard to find.
• Lauren Collins:

  “Uniqlo sizing—there are some strange things going on... when they made their first foray into the US…people were really flummoxed.” (07:06)

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3. Why Write About Uniqlo? The IKEA Parallel and Company Profile (11:33–13:43)

• Collins first wanted to write about Uniqlo years ago, after noticing it dominating in affordable apparel much like IKEA did for home goods.
• Initial attempts to access Uniqlo for a profile failed; the project only materialized after the company hired designer Clare Waight Keller.
• Interesting note: Uniqlo originally spelled with a 'C' (anecdote for holiday parties!).

“I started to see Uniqlo kind of doing many of the same things and dominating this, like, affordable fashion space in similar ways to what IKEA has done for the home.”
— Lauren Collins (11:49)

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4. Uniqlo: Identity, Scale, and the ‘Universal Donor’ of Fashion (16:13–19:52)

• Founded: 1984 by Tadashi Yanai (still at the helm as Japan’s 2nd richest man).
• Over 2,500 global stores; “one in four Japanese people is said to own a Uniqlo puffer.”
• In 2024, parent Fast Retailing generated nearly $20B in revenue and $3B in profit.
• Global Ambition: Now the world’s 3rd largest apparel retailer — “hot on the heels of H&M and Inditex (Zara) but growing faster.”
• Collins’ take: Uniqlo as the “universal donor of fashion”—clothes that unobtrusively fit any look or lifestyle.
• Fascinating impact on culture: If Uniqlo moves a pocket on a pant, it may subtly change global behaviors.

“I see Uniqlo, and I wrote this in the piece, as kind of the universal donor of fashion, Uniqlo, like, can mix kind of unobtrusively with any lifestyle, any aesthetic.”
— Lauren Collins (17:46)

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5. The Lifewear Philosophy and Technical Product Superiority (19:52–23:45)

• Lifewear: Uniqlo’s core, if opaque, mantra (“impenetrable” as Sherman says).
• Success built on technical innovation—e.g., HeatTech.
• The product’s superior practicality is its own form of marketing; customers embrace products because they work, even when marketing doesn’t connect.

“Heat tech is amazing. Like I wear a black turtleneck sometimes…in New York last week, it was freezing. I wore one…almost under every single outfit I had on, so I didn't have to wear a giant coat.”
— Lauren Sherman (21:15)

• Sherman argues Uniqlo's technical emphasis (quality, innovative fabric, practical design) is what sets it apart, more than its storytelling.

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6. Product Tidbits: Merino Polo, HeatTech, and E-commerce Woes (23:45–27:46)

• Materials Partnership: Uniqlo’s technical edge stems from a deep partnership with Toray (a Japanese textile manufacturer). They collaborate on product innovation—sometimes Toray suggests ideas, other times Uniqlo requests textiles to meet specific functions.
• Collins' favorite deep cut: the merino polo — “navy blue and hunter green”—a staple for 2025.
• Uniqlo’s e-commerce is notoriously clunky, text-heavy, and confusing, leading to “rage clicks” (new term learned from Sarah Shapiro).

“[E-commerce]…I had somebody, when I was reporting this piece…I felt like I was signing up for a dating app…passwords, it’s all kinds of stuff…just to buy some socks and underwear.”
— Lauren Collins (25:48)

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7. The Enigma of Lifewear and Uniqlo’s Earnestness (27:46–29:37)

• Lifewear is mysterious—even when explained by company insiders. Collins interviewed a Japanese literature translator Uniqlo hired to help with the slogan.
• Deliberate ambiguity: the company wants you to “stop and think about what it meant.”
• Uniqlo’s approach is painstaking, earnest, and slightly opaque, reflecting intense corporate sincerity rather than buzzy fast fashion.

“…They tried to make it…a little tricky…I think they wanted people to stop and think about what it meant…”
— Lauren Collins (28:07)

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8. Positioning in Europe vs. US, ‘Universal Donor’ in Practice (29:37–33:42)

• In both Europe and the US, Uniqlo is increasingly perceived as a base layer for everyone—a neutral, functional anchor to more expressive wardrobes.
• Retail strategy in Europe focuses on large, beautiful flagship locations (e.g., Opéra in Paris), while in the US, earlier mall-based forays flopped.
• Unlike competitors, Uniqlo doesn’t envision customers in head-to-toe Uniqlo; rather, their pieces mix in seamlessly with any style.

“They don't envision people wearing Uniqlo head to toe. It's always meant as…the universal donor…it's going to be able to go with everything.”
— Lauren Collins (32:28)

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9. Competing with Amazon, Walmart, and the Value Proposition (34:44–39:42)

• In Japan: Uniqlo is the discount baseline—akin to Walmart or Amazon in the US.
• Brand awareness: There's even the Japanese term “unibare” for when someone recognizes you’re in Uniqlo rather than pricier brands.
• Originally, Yanai considered penetrating the US market by buying a major established brand (e.g., J.Crew or Gap), but this strategy never materialized—so now, Uniqlo is attempting organic growth after all.
• Value prop in the West is stronger due to higher perceived quality and design collaboration.

“In Japan, Uniqlo is the Walmart, Amazon option… but the positioning is a little bit different in the US.”
— Lauren Collins (36:28)

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10. Collaborations: Why So Many Star Designers? (39:42–46:22)

• In the West, collaborations with high-profile designers like Alexander Wang, JW Anderson, Christophe Lemaire, and, most recently, Clare Waight Keller, elevate Uniqlo’s brand.
• Clare Waight Keller (notably of Meghan Markle’s wedding dress) has taken on a deep creative role, particularly for women’s categories.
• Collaborations both elevate the Uniqlo brand and offer designers a rare opportunity to reach the literal global masses with their work, which is often deeply gratifying.

“If you can get something…Amazon, Walmart, ish priced…designed by someone who also made Meghan Markle's wedding dress…I mean, you know, which one are you going to pick?”
— Lauren Collins (42:47)

“[Clare Waight Keller] was really brought in to kind of, like, zhuzh up the women's offering…She seemed a little bit exhilarated in a way that she’d spent so much of her career…making clothes that hang in closets. And now she's…dressing the masses.”
— Lauren Collins (44:30)

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11. Impact for Designers and Luxury’s Shifting Meaning (46:22–47:47)

• Even as luxury feels less central to contemporary consumer habits, Uniqlo offers designers like Waight Keller a meaningful way to impact people’s lives at scale.
• For designers, there’s energy and satisfaction in making clothes for millions to actually wear.
• Sherman notes that while she’s used to “everyone in a certain group” reading her work, designers at Uniqlo reach broader swathes of people.

“If I were a designer, I’d want people to wear my clothes. Wouldn't you?”
— Lauren Collins (47:02)

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12. Closing Thoughts and Recommendations (47:47–48:48)

• Collins’ next piece is still in the works and will have only a tangential relationship to fashion.
• Her Substack newsletter is called Lettres Recommende — “my repository for just all the cool little things that slip through the cracks.”
• The episode closes with well wishes for the holidays and mutual compliments.

Key Quotes

• “Uniqlo was founded in 1984 by Tadashi Yanai, who is still at the top of the company…second richest man in Japan…”
  — Lauren Collins (16:13)
• “One in four Japanese people is said to own a Uniqlo puffer…ubiquitous in Japan and becoming increasingly so elsewhere.”
  — Lauren Collins (17:14)
• “I see Uniqlo as…kind of the universal donor of fashion…can mix unobtrusively with any lifestyle, any aesthetic.”
  — Lauren Collins (17:46)
• “The product is just so much better than anything else out there…that has—the product is the marketing.”
  — Lauren Sherman (22:01)
• “They tried to make [Lifewear] a little tricky. I think they wanted people to stop and think about what it meant.”
  — Lauren Collins (28:07)
• “Clare Waight Keller was also very, very keen to emphasize…in a moment where, you know, in European high fashion, women have kind of gone extinct, she was like, I'm a female designer, and I'm at the head creatively, of the third biggest fashion company in the world.”
  — Lauren Collins (45:41)

Tone

Conversational, insider-y, slightly irreverent — blending industry expertise with the everyday realities of fashion consumers.

Takeaways

• Uniqlo’s growth story is more about relentless refinement and technical superiority than fleeting trends.
• “Lifewear” is both a genuine philosophy and a deliberately mysterious slogan, meant to make consumers pause.
• Technical innovation, thoughtful collaborations, and an aura of earnestness distinguish Uniqlo from fast fashion peers—even as its e-commerce and sizing remain frustrating.
• For designers, Uniqlo offers a thrilling canvas: high design, enormous reach, and the chance to influence daily life at a global scale.

For anyone curious about Uniqlo’s outsize presence in the global wardrobe — and its unassuming but transformative approach to fashion — this episode is a revealing listen.