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Uniqlo's new shoe line
Not content with just clothing the entire Japanese nation, mass retailer Uniqlo goes into cobbling
The Velour Desert Boots come in six colorways and go for ¥4,990.Uniqlo launched its new shoe line -- cleverly named Uniqlo Shoes -- and yesterday Japan Trends took a first look. While the low prices guarantee a flood of the footwear on the Tokyo streets, there is not much yet to get overly excited about.
Uniqlo only offers eight total styles -- four for men, four for women -- and all come in a plethora of suspicious-sounding materials. (I may be wrong, but 'neoleather' is probably not a futuristic improvement on good ole 'leather.') But low prices come at a cost. With the canvas sneakers, Uniqlo had to cut down the standard three to five stripes to just a single one.
The Velour Desert Boots (¥4,990), however, could be a big winner in a '90s-revival kind of way, and the Round Ballet Shoes (¥1,990) strike that perfect Uniqlo balance between cuteness and incognito. Like with the clothing, you don't actually openly advertise your use of Uniqlo Shoes. Uniqlo's UGG-clone -- the Neoleather Boots for women (¥2,990) -- are too distinctive and will lead to the dreaded 'yunibare' -- i.e., someone discovering that you are wearing Uniqlo.
But as Japan Trends suggests, this first collection is just the platform for future greatness. Uniqlo Shoes' real success will come with high-profile collaborations and niche collections. Not that they make my shoe size....
