Waight Keller hails from the salons of Paris; she was at Givenchy for three years and at Chloé for six before that, and she’s upfront about the learning curve at Uniqlo. “In the fashion industry, especially luxury, it’s all about change, change, change. What are the new proportions? The new silhouettes? That’s important to keep things moving, but the truth is, it’s the timeless pieces that people buy in a big, big way.”
One of the first categories she’s turned her eye to is denim. A new wide-leg style has become “one of the globally top-selling styles” since launching. In menswear, you can expect softer tailored jackets and “more interesting oversized shapes.” Then, as September edges into October her new Pufftech styles will start filtering into the stores, and she says it’s not just the palette that will be new, but also the proportions and “the way that they’re styled.”
Waight Keller has noticed her own style changing since starting to work full-time at Uniqlo. These days she’s pairing her tailored jackets with white tees and cargo pants or men’s parachute pants. “The Uniqlo customer has this sort of everyday casualness which is really quite appealing,” she says. “It’s a bit more active-sporty than the very refined, let’s say, wardrobe I had before. I’m enjoying the fact that everything’s cotton and fresh and washable.”
What about all those fall 2024 season headlines touting the return of dressing up? “I don’t see it myself,” she says. “I travel so much”—indeed, in between our conversation in late August, which she conducted from the English seaside, and her arrival in New York, she was in Japan for several days of work—“I’m observing people constantly and the big takeaways are that everyday style has evolved from Covid. There’s a relaxed sense of wanting to look smart-ish but actually feel super-comfortable. This is my mission at Uniqlo: to create that comfort with a strong sense of fashion, because I think that’s the sweet spot—something that feels great, makes you look good, but actually has a complete ease to it.”
There’s one more growth area she wants to talk about. “I’ve got a very good collection of flat shoes now. That’s always the go-to, on the run, with travel. But there’s still not a good selection in the market. That’s a category that’s going to expand [at Uniqlo], as well.”