UNIQLO UT's Charming Illustrations Celebrate Haruki Murakami's Novels and Radio Show
Eight stylized homages to the famed Japanese author.
Following a recent Hajime Sorayama joint effort, mega-retailer UNIQLO is serving up another collaborative UT project. This time, celebrated author Haruki Murakami is the subject of the collaborative affair, informing stylized T-shirts that nod to the writer’s bibliography and Japanese radio show.
Informed by Murakami Radio and six world-famous novels — Kafka on the Shore, 1Q84, Norwegian Wood, Sputnik Sweetheart Dance Dance Dance and Pinball 1973 — this graphical lineup draws from the cover art of the books as much as it does their content. Eight T-shirts are emblazoned with details that range from the satellite that appears atop Sputnik Sweetheart to a simple design that merely reproduces the title of Norwegian Wood.
Elsewhere, a shirt pays tribute to the cat drawing that graced promotional material for Murakami Radio, the author’s TOKYO FM radio show that begin last year with the aim of encouraging listeners to relax during COVID-19 quarantine. Emblazoned with uplifting mantras like “Books, music and cats have been my friends from way back.”, these goods are accompanied by a selection of stickers and pins that feature similar imagery.
The Haruki Murakami capsule launches on UNIQLO’s website on March 15, with shirts weighing in at $19.90 USD, pins at $7.90 USD and a sticker sheet at $5.90 USD.
UNIQLO parent Fast Retailing recently hit a record high market cap, overtaking fast fashion competitors like ZARA.
