Cate Blanchett, Roger Federer, Uniqlo creative director Clare Waight Keller and artist and designer KAWS discuss Uniqlo’s 20-year US celebration with MoMA, uniting fashion, art and innovation under the timeless vision of LifeWear
Somewhere between her Oscar-winning depiction as a fallen socialite swathed in couture for Blue Jasmine and her portrayal of a world-renowned conductor chasing her white whale in the form of a 120-year-old Mahler symphony for Tár, Cate Blanchett solidified her place as a fashion icon. The Best Actress recipient has mastered the rare alchemy of being celebrated as a touchstone of glamour and a consummate actor, often treating her costumes as a kind of performance in parallel with her cinematic roles.
Her style choices, even off-screen, are rarely safe. They can be spectral, unexpected and freighted with meaning, be it resurrecting a gown from her archives, embracing tailoring traditionally coded as masculine or elevating an emerging artisan with the quietest of cues. The red carpet — once derided as a sartorial wasteland where good taste went to die, if you can believe it — takes on a different energy in her presence. Blanchett meets it with the same fervour she brings to deconstructing a character and, by her own admission, the same gusto she reserves for loathing the whine of a leaf blower (a fact that the internet and countless memes have gleefully confirmed).
Tadashi Yanai recalls the company’s first entry into the US
Although the acclaimed performer insists her wardrobe is casual and not the result of painstaking deliberation, even her most seemingly offhand ensemble carries intention. The illusion of ease, a discipline so refined it reads as instinct, underpins her appointment as Uniqlo’s global ambassador since August. The brand’s LifeWear philosophy — rooted in the Japanese ideals of simplicity, quality and longevity — seeks to produce garments that are both modern and enduring: to be “of the time and for the time”. Blanchett emerges as a fitting interpreter of this vision.
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“Clothing accrues meaning over time, and there’s a cyclical nature to it. Uniqlo has created classics and staples that allow you to build a personal sense of style by holding on to things. If you don’t want them anymore, you can pass them on to other people. I grew up with a Depression-era grandmother, so the idea of waste — an enemy to creativity — has always been anathema to me.
“Essentially, clothes are receptacles of memory. What you put close to your skin has an emotional impact. I have a denim jacket that my parents gave me for my 15th birthday, which I love and still wear. And that’s what I admire about what Uniqlo has been doing: helping people shape a wardrobe that lasts. Good, well-made products shouldn’t be a luxury; they should be available to everyone,” the actress said during a panel discussion with fellow ambassador Roger Federer, moderated by Uniqlo creative director Clare Waight Keller at the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York last month for The Art and Science of LifeWear event.
The temple of contemporary art in Manhattan was not chosen arbitrarily. For two decades, the clothing company founded in 1984 by Tadashi Yanai has partnered with the museum, funding public programmes and Free Friday Nights that offer residents complimentary entry to the galleries in an effort to make the arts more accessible. Staging the event there, on the 20th anniversary of its arrival in the US, allowed the brand to position LifeWear within a space synonymous with progressive design and innovation. It also highlighted its long-standing collaboration with Toray Industries, the Japanese materials giant whose research into high-performance fibres and textiles underscores how deeply technology improves the future of the clothes we live in.
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Design is most powerful when it blends seamlessly into the fabric of living — a tenet that lends credence to Yanai and his lieutenants, who believe it is possible to change the world even with a $19.90 T-shirt. Blanchett’s partnership suggests a shared faith in this principle.
“I’ve always been amazed by Uniqlo’s efforts to make lives better. Working with the team has afforded an opportunity to meet people where they live, to delve actively into the belief that wearing clothes and engaging with the world around you are not mutually exclusive.
“Fashion, particularly for women, reflects the way they move through spaces, opportunities available to them and how they see themselves. People are interrogating their purchases more closely now — they want to understand how an organisation delivers value in a world where less must not only be better, but more,” says the mother of four, whose teenage children and 86-year-old mother all swear by the Japanese label.
Federer discussing his sense of style at the panel
Blanchett’s involvement also reminds Federer of his early conversations with the company, whose executives reject the notion of fast fashion, describing it instead as an “emotionally sustainable” business model built on goods that remain desirable for years.
“I remember competing in Uniqlo and retiring in it,” recalls the tennis legend. “John [C Jay, president of global creative for Fast Retailing Co, Uniqlo’s parent company] still believed in me even though I was in the twilight of my career. He told me, ‘The best is yet to come. It’s not over, even when you leave the court.’ As an athlete, that is a beautiful feeling and thing to hear because you always think everybody has an expiry date, right?
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“I’ve always had to keep innovating my game and adapting to new situations — something I’m sure the people behind Uniqlo experience all the time. I like to win, and I think they share that same winning gene. Whether in my career or daily life, I try to be my authentic self. The direction of LifeWear is very similar: It stays true to its DNA and speaks volumes about what it stands for. Tennis has always been such an elegant sport, and its influence and style have long extended into the streets. I’m proud to help build that bridge and present a collection that moves between performance and everyday life.”
The Art & Science of LifeWear exhibition was held in cooperation with Uniqlo’s technology partner Toray
Behind the seams
The explosion of art-fashion crossovers in recent decades mirrors how the industry has evolved in the new millennium. Once the preserve of the discerning few and those who could afford it, art has become a worldwide fascination, amplified by technology, travel and the digital commons. Few brands have navigated this transformation with as much subtlety as Uniqlo, which has turned the language of accessibility into something larger: a cultural movement to reframe the medium not as an elite pursuit but a public endeavour.
The vision of democratising art is, in essence, an extension of the LifeWear ethos. Whether it is slipping on a shirt co-created with runway darling JW Anderson or one of its airy tees emblazoned with Van Gogh’s The Starry Night, each act of wearing becomes a gesture of inclusion — an affirmation that good design can belong to everyone. Forging strong ties with prominent institutions such as MoMA, Tate Modern, the Louvre and the Boston Museum of Fine Arts has also redefined what corporate patronage can look like without diluting artistic integrity. Uniqlo’s investment in education, art literacy and sustained engagement shows that galleries and garments alike can become global signifiers.
In the case of MoMA, since first joining forces in 2013, countless visitors have benefited from flagship initiatives such as ArtSpeaks (a video-driven series in which curators and guest commentators share personal insights into the museum’s collection); Drawn to MoMA (where artists reinterpret works through illustration, often in digital or published form); and Art for All (a programme that offers viewers intimate glimpses into the inner workings of the creative process).
KAWS interacting with the Heattech display
This dialogue between art and accessibility now circles back to a familiar collaborator. KAWS — born Brian Donnelly and known for his off-kilter reinterpretations of recognisable cartoon figures from pop culture, including Sesame Street characters, Mickey Mouse and SpongeBob SquarePants — has been named Uniqlo’s first Artist in Residence. In his role, he will extend the Art for All philosophy through activations across stores and museum partners, while also contributing to the development of LifeWear beyond UT, beginning with the autumn/winter collection.
“I’m thrilled to be taking this next step, to become the brand’s first Artist in Residence. In this role, I hope to tap into the art community and global creatives to curate the next generation of collaborators,” says the Brooklyn artist, who began tagging graffiti walls in the 1990s before ascending to blue-chip status.
His earlier dalliance with the brand is already the stuff of retail folklore. When the KAWS x Uniqlo line landed in China in 2019, numerous stores erupted in frenzy: Shoppers ducked beneath half-closed shutters, stripped mannequins bare and locked arms in a scramble for the last remaining pieces.
In what feels more like a reunion than a debut, KAWS’ trademark crossed-out eyes motif — once winked from street corners and splashed across city walls — will soon look out from the wardrobes of millions.
The high-performance Pufftech
Pair play
Legacy, especially for CEO Yanai, is a matter of trust, not a trophy. The 76-year-old billionaire, credited with building and growing Fast Retailing from his father’s small tailor shop, views succession as an act of stewardship. His two sons, Kazumi and Koji, have been nominated to the board but neither is slated to take over his post. The move, he says, is “to maintain proper governance”.
During an intimate chat after the LifeWear event, Koji expands on the patriarch’s hopes with a kind of measured humility.
“The moment my father took the company public, he gave up the idea of passing it on to his family. When I was in junior high, he told me to let go of the thought of inheritance and instead work hard and find my own path.
“One day, someone from the current management will probably take over. Right now, my brother and I, as part of the founding family, see our role as ensuring the company stays true to its course if it ever drifts in the wrong direction. That means understanding every part of the business, including who we choose to work with.”
This discernment is echoed once again in Blanchett’s ambassadorship, a decision Koji considers a meeting of sensibilities rather than marketing calculus.
“I first met Cate at a dinner during the 2023 Global Refugee Forum, where she, a UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador, called for greater focus on education and finding solutions to the global displacement crisis. I was so impressed by her humanitarian spirit, passion for community and deep understanding of what fashion can do that I felt her professionalism would be a great learning for all of us at Uniqlo,” he says.
Everyday clothing with a practical sense of beauty
“When we choose someone to work with, we don’t follow a measurement system to gauge their impact. Roger, [professional golfer] Adam Scott, [wheelchair tennis champion] Shingo Kunieda and [Olympic snowboarding gold medallist] Ayumu Hirano are all remarkable not just for their achievements but for their spirit. In fact, when we signed Adam, he went on to win the Masters that same week. So, really, we don’t necessarily select our personalities based on timing. Back to Cate, we’ve planned some commercial projects, of course, but we also want to take tangible action on the causes she cares about. One of these is the Displacement Film Fund, a short film grant managed by the International Film Festival Rotterdam’s Hubert Bals Fund, which supports refugee filmmakers.”
Asked who is on his personal dream list for future collaboration, Koji pauses for a long moment, stumped. Then he smiles, eyes bright with admiration. “(English painter) David Hockney,” he replies. “He’s such an important figure as one of the defining voices of the pop art movement and among the most influential British artists of the 20th and 21st centuries. But he’s already 88,” he adds with a laugh. “The reason is simple, I just love his work.”
There is something almost painterly in how the Yanais shape their company, with a respect for the unseen layers that hold a lasting idea together. Partnerships, in that sense, are brushstrokes on a larger canvas of intent — Blanchett’s clarity, Federer’s grace, KAWS’ audacity — each extending the brand’s relevance in their own way.
Uniqlo is still that same company that applies sociological attention to the dilemmas of daily life: how to keep warm without bulk, stay cool without artifice and make quality craftsmanship available without excess. But that same curiosity has expanded beyond function into feeling, the deeper question of how clothes can convey empathy and purpose. It is a powerful paradox, if one thinks about it — a brand so universally worn has turned ubiquity into a shared language, yet still manages to move thoughtfully ahead of the world it dresses.
