Edinburgh:
Old City,
New Style
Stone roads, Old Town, the castle, a historic university. Edinburgh’s classic scenery surrounds an assortment of independent shops, as well as Scotland’s first UNIQLO. Among the inspirations for this season’s collection are the cityscape of Edinburgh and the way its people style LifeWear in the autumn.
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Katie Lambert
Owner, The Coffee Cabinet
Finnan McLean
Founder, Spaceboy Coffee
Darren Wilkie
Founder, flam Homewares
Hugo Macdonald & James Stevens
Co-founders, Bard
Rita Garcia
Student
Grace Dempsey
Musician, Model, Youth Worker
Sarah Walker
Florist, Co-founder of Ochre
Cameron Angus
Graphic Designer, Assai Records Staff
Life in Edinburgh
Text by Hugo Macdonald
There is a popular saying in destinations with inclement climates: “There’s no such thing as bad weather, only wrong clothing.” Edinburgh is one such place. And we — its stoic, romantic inhabitants — are obsessed with the plot twists and turns, the rolls and the punches, that its weather delivers. Four seasons in one day, visitors gamely ask? A different season every hour we reply, and an extra layer of clothing for any eventuality.
Living in Edinburgh you quickly learn to navigate the elements as the fourth dimension of city life, and we have abundant wardrobes as a result, so the arrival of UNIQLO in Edinburgh has been greeted with wild excitement and relief. A standard summer’s day might start shrouded in fog — or “The Haar” as we call it — rolling into the city from the Firth of Forth. It’s not rare to see commuters huddled in their winter coats in August. The humor of Edinburgh’s weather gods means The Haar blows away as everyone arrives at work. When the chilly cloud evaporates, temperatures can rise by a full ten degrees in as many minutes. Dunediners respond to such theatrical situations by layering our clothes heavily and shedding them frequently. We leave our clothes all over the homes, offices, and public spaces where we spend time. As such, we have a promiscuous and karmic approach to our wardrobes, caught in an endless game of borrow and return. If the glove fits…
The Edinburgh light captivates and spellbinds residents and visitors alike. It is attributed to the position of the city, wedged into the Firth of Forth, together with its topographical complexity suspended over seven hills and its latitude in the Northern Hemisphere. It is a cold light, in saturation and temperature. It pierces cumulonimbus cloudscapes, bouncing off the water and into the city with a milky aura. It lends Edinburgh a curiously cinematic quality, which encourages people to behave as if they are on set or stage, ready for their close-up. We dress to be seen and admired, photographed and filmed.
Street life is excessive in Edinburgh. We play host to two of the world’s most celebrated festivals, for the entire month of August and four months later for Hogmanay, or New Year. When the rest of the world isn’t knocking down our doors to share in our fun, we enjoy taking advantage of the streets and gardens, mountains, and beaches ourselves. We like showing off to each other, promenading, and peacocking, outside pubs, bars, and restaurants. Based on anecdotal evidence, you’re never more than a hammer throw from a hairdresser in Edinburgh. We care deeply about our appearances and we love a seasonal makeover, for better or worse.
In winter, it can feel like it’s never daylight; in summer it can feel like it never gets dark. And herein lies the magic of Edinburgh. We are a city of extremes: dark and light, ancient and progressive; charming and cheeky; riotous and gentle. For a relatively small capital city, we loom large in the global imagination because we seize life by its lapels come rain or shine, or any other weather in between.
Hugo Macdonald
Co-founder of Bard
Hugo, profiled above, has lived in Edinburgh for three years. Amidst his work as a design critic, curator, and consultant, he also manages Bard, a gallery showcasing Scottish crafts. A former design editor at Monocle, Hugo has contributed writing to magazines like Wallpaper*, Apartamento, and Kinfolk.
Illustration by Harper Ouk
- Photography by Kohei Kawashima
- Styling by Mitsuru Kurosawa
- Hair & Makeup by Karen Shields
- Coordination by Tatsuo Hino, Keita Hiraoka
- Film by Amin Shaikh
- Text by UNIQLO
Release dates may vary, depending on the product. All listed prices are current as of August 23rd. Pricing is subject to change.