UNIQLO we need to talk about your latest JW Anderson collab.

UNIQLO and JW Anderson are two brands that can’t seem to get enough of each other. They’ve collaborated before numerous times on a variety of limited collections, this time bringing onboard twenty-time Grand Slam Winner and tennis God, Roger Federer, to help with their upcoming drop. However, the first pictures of UNIQLO’s “The Roger Federer Collection by JW ANDERSON” are kind of underwhelming, particularly given what we’re used to from JW Anderson.

The collection, which has been described by JW Anderson himself as a “new style of LifeWear”, is set to drop globally on September 4, and features an array of tennis inspired pieces, including polos, fleeces, joggers, and jackets in a variety of navy blues, carpet greys, and tennis court greens. It’s practical, functional, and durable; but is it interesting?

We wouldn’t mind a tennis-ready apparel collection, fit for the court and the streets, but considering JW Anderson is known for his pushing of boundaries, breaking of norms, and challenging of conventions, it’s a little disappointing. Where’s the abstract silhouettes or the playful themes? The only thing about the collection that’s giving JW Anderson is the heavy presence of grey.

It’s clear that JW Anderson’s decided to tone his influence way down for the UNIQLO collaboration, maybe because of the target audience being a little less avant garde than his usual crowd. However, we would’ve loved to have seen a true JW Anderson take on a UNIQLO X Roger Federer tennis drop. It’s kind of feeling like we’ve been robbed of a tennis ball shaped bag…

It’s clear that the UNIQLO x JW Anderson collab is just aiming for practicality rather than Anderson’s usual abstractness. If you’re a tennis player looking for a conventional yet wearable new set for the courts then this will probably be perfect for you. It’s just not what we’ve come to expect from a JW Anderson collaboration, but we’ll have to wait till September for another fix of that.

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