UNIQLO TEAMS UP WITH SOHO ART CURATOR JEFFREY DEITCH ON NEW PROJECT

Japanese retailer Uniqlo has announced “Art for All,” a new partnership with esteemed SoHo-based gallerist and art curator Jeffrey Deitch.

With the aim of fostering the creativity, design and ideas of local and global artists to a broad international audience, the project is part of a continued celebration of Uniqlo’s SoHo store opening ten years ago. Beginning January 20, the partnership will commence with the introduction of “Art for All” shops located in the brand’s SoHo and 34th Street stores, which will feature limited-edition items chosen by Deitch. This will be followed by a series of events and activities led and curated by Deitch during January and February.

“Art for All” will entail a number of creativity-focused moments, including a lecture developed with Deitch located at Deitch Projects on January 26 as well as live screen-printing events with acclaimed artists at Uniqlo’s SoHo store on February 4 and 11. The “Art for All” shops will reflect innovative museum-shops within the stores and make covetable art accessible to all. The shop’s items, hand-selected by Deitch, are inspired by the ideas and work of established and emerging artists from around the world, all available at under $100.

“Jeffrey Deitch is a visionary figure who has been fearless in his lifelong work to redefine the boundaries of contemporary art,” said John Jay, president of global creative at Fast Retailing, parent company of Uniqlo. “He is not afraid to engage in critical public debates on how art reflects and shapes social change, culture and commerce. We believe Jeffrey will give Uniqlo customers insightful context to appreciate the original ideas of influential artists, while also helping us unearth the most exciting, next generation of creators. This is a highly unusual collaboration; that’s what is so inspiring.”

“I have believed in ‘art for all’ since the beginning of my career. It has been my dream to team up with the right partner to take the concept of artists’ products to a new level. The goal of my partnership with Uniqlo is to work with some of the world’s greatest artists and create art products that everyone can collect,” added Deitch. “SoHo is today one of the international centers for fashion, design and new media. Fashionable young people from all over the world come to SoHo for inspiration. At the same time, Americans involved in art, fashion, music and design have long looked to Tokyo for inspiration.”