curtain raiser

I don't always buy something - in fact I own few things from the place since the first outlet in Singapore will only open next month - but as a brand, I love Uniqlo. It speaks me to with its orderly, cheerful, democratic, simple language. The styling of their clothes in their ad campaigns is awesome. The concepts of their website and related microsites are wonderful and inventive (Uniqlock is very cool). They have a fab magazine. They had one of the coollest designer collaborations of all time with Felipe Oliveira Baptista.

I don't expect the Singapore outposts to look as cool as the one in the US, and I'm not excited by the clothes per se (it's so much better for men, I feel), but I'm happy to see one because I think they deserve higher visibility for their attention to every aspect of their brand, down to the music on Uniqlock.

For a more comprehensive review of their branding efforts, read this, which was helpfully highlighted on Style Salvage.

Image from uniqlo us website, no longer available