Women
at Work
UNIQLO : CFW23 launches mid-September
The Gentlewoman discovers
Clare Waight Keller’s new collection, UNIQLO : C.
An extraordinary wardrobe for everyday life,
worn here by the artist Sahara Longe.
The Gentlewoman magazine celebrates women of style and purpose. Founded in London in 2009, the award-winning biannual showcases female role models, such as Beyoncé, Angela Lansbury, Zadie Smith and Greta Gerwig, with a distinctive combination of warmth, personality and glamour. As well as a print publication, The Gentlewoman also exists in the form of a club, whose members get together to enjoy fashionable happenings in metropolitan cities across the world. Sign up at thegentlewoman.com.
Sahara Longe
Artist
Stepping out from behind the canvas is Sahara Longe, who paints vibrant figurative works, often on a larger-than-life scale (“There’s a lot of ladder climbing involved,” she says). Since graduating from the distinguished Charles H. Cecil Studios in Florence, Sahara, twenty-nine, has exhibited in New York, Shanghai, Miami and Lagos, as well as London, where she lives and works.
Sahara embraces the invitation to mix and match. “As a collection, UNIQLO : C is very versatile,” she says. “There are so many pieces that can be swapped in or layered up as the seasons change.” As well as the handsome corduroy suit and the soft, deliciously slouchy knitwear, Sahara gravitates towards the striking, highly functional printed padded coat, which she is wearing on the opposite page. “I love the relaxed, oversized fit, but also how lightweight it is. I could see it becoming something I wear every day.” And when the coat comes off, what does Sahara wear to work in her studio in Brixton, south London? “Very old T-shirts, mostly. I’m an extremely messy painter.”
Sahara Longe
Artist
Stepping out from behind the canvas is Sahara Longe, who paints vibrant figurative works, often on a larger-than-life scale (“There’s a lot of ladder climbing involved,” she says). Since graduating from the distinguished Charles H. Cecil Studios in Florence, Sahara, twenty-nine, has exhibited in New York, Shanghai, Miami and Lagos, as well as London, where she lives and works.
- Photography by Marius Uhlig
- Styling by Fan Hong
talk shop.
- How did UNIQLO : C come about, Clare?
- It started as a conversation about me adding a few key items to UNIQLO’s LifeWear collection, but because of the way I work, I intuitively put these pieces together as a capsule wardrobe. There was such a strong identity there, it occurred to us that perhaps it could exist as its own label. And that became UNIQLO : C.
- Tell us about that name.
- From the beginning, we referred to the collection as Project C, and it felt as if the letter C kept coming up: collaboration, contrast, clarity—and Clare, of course!
- Designing a collection on this scale is new territory for you, isn’t it?
- Yes, so I was intrigued. Obviously, UNIQLO has an incredible legacy of working with great designers: Jil Sander, Jonathan Anderson, Christophe Lemaire, among others. And as a brand they’re also very technology-driven, which was particularly appealing.
- How did you begin?
- The project started with me looking at British fashion and the mix-and-match way people dress here, particularly in London. It’s a real melting pot of styles. So I spent a lot of time people-watching, on Portobello Road or at farmer’s markets or along the South Bank. I have been known to secretly snap pictures of people’s outfits. And I always look through my own library—I must have about 2,000 books—and archive of magazines. I love flicking through 1960 sand 1970s Nova and vintage Italian Vogue.
- You developed a clear “language” at each of the fashion houses where you worked. What is the language of UNIQLO : C?
- It’s an easy sophistication: the boyish-fit pant, the tailored blazer, the trench coat, but also the fluid dresses and skirts that have been present in my collections for years. It’s quite edited; I’m all about building an effortless wardrobe—I don’t want to be standing in front of the mirror trying to coordinate things either!
- And what’s your secret to that?
- The secret to looking effortless is in the fit. Adjusting an armhole on a jacket or adding a drawstring to a dress might sound like a small thing, but those are the details that create that sense of casual loucheness. For UNIQLO : C, I wanted to bring a certain nonchalance to the fit, so I worked with the same pattern cutter on every single garment to balance the shoulder or ensure the lining was sitting correctly. These are often subtle adjustments, but they require fine workmanship.
- Will it feel odd to spot one of your pieces on the beach when you’re at home in Cornwall? How do you prepare for that?
- I was always thrilled to see people in my pieces from Chloé and Givenchy on the street—I still see many of the bags—but this is on such a global scale!
- In the past, when a piece has been worn or styled differently to how you intended, did you just close your eyes?
- Actually, it’s inspiring to see things viewed through another person’s lens: oddly fascinating to see how others feel in my clothes.
- Many previous designers have marvelled at UNIQLO’s technical expertise.
- The UNIQLO team are perfectionists. Every detail is equally important, down to the colour of the thread. I did more fittings for UNIQLO : C than I’ve done for collections in the past! But when you think about the huge buy behind each garment, you’ve got to be sure that the execution is perfect, or as close to perfect as possible.
- Do you have a favourite piece?
- Probably the trench coat. A trench isn’t necessarily a fashion statement, but it is one of the most timeless, democratic pieces in our wardrobes. I spent a long time looking at the fabric and proportions, and added a printed lining inside—a check pattern from the 1940s. I loved the idea of this piece being an anchor point in the collection.
- Are you a UNIQLO customer?
- Absolutely. I love the men’s T-shirts. The knitwear is great. And the Ultra Light Down. I first came to UNIQLO through +J in 2009 and still own many of those pieces. Take those great nylon trousers – they were signature Jil Sander, but somehow very UNIQLO too. It’s part of the reason I was so excited to work with them. I wanted to capture that same spirit and energy.
- How does UNIQLO continue to get that right?
- They consider the purpose behind every piece, and how that item becomes an essential part of your wardrobe. That really tapped into my own approach. I’ve always created clothes for women to wear in their everyday lives.
