Beyond Form And Fashion

Uniqlo x Toray: Changing the world one piece of clothing at a time

- Katrina Rivere-Diga

New York, USA—It was an overcast Fall day in New York. The sky was gray, and clouds were threatening rain. But inside a small conference room in Spring Studios where I and a few other journalists were billeted, the mood was anything but gloomy.

The room was abuzz as John Jay—global creative president of Uniqlo parent Fast Retailing and one of the most influential art directors in the past 50 years—gamely answered our questions.

One of the many important ones asked was what sets Uniqlo apart from other brands, high street fashion or otherwise. “At Uniqlo,” Jay says, “we make clothes to change the world.”