The anime fashion line makes its return, but once again not in Ghibli or Uniqlo’s home country.
Uniqlo is no stranger to the anime/video game collaboration game, having formed creative partnerships with several different franchises for T-shirt lines over the year. It wasn’t until last summer, though, that the casual clothing chain entered into its first-ever tie-up with Studio Ghibli.
That line, surprisingly, was offered for a limited time in Singapore and Thailand only. Now Uniqlo is bringing its Ghibli shirts and other fashion items back, but once again they won’t be coming to Japan.
This time around it’s Uniqlo Taiwan that’s bringing the Ghibli line to fans in its corner of the world. Obviously, Ghibli’s most famous, and cuddly star, Totoro, graces a number of the shirts.
Something unique about the line is that unlike the chain’s other pop culture collaborations, which are usually limited to short-sleeve graphic T-shirts, Uniqlo’s Ghibli collection also includes long-sleeved tees and even button-up shirts.
Other famous featured faces include No Face and the Susuwatari/Soot Sprites from Spirited Away.
Rather than just repurposing preexisting pieces of key art or frames of animation from the anime movies, Studio Ghibli worked with Thai artist Kanyada Phatan to produce unique illustrations of the characters seen on some of the shirts.
Princess Mononoke’s T-shirts subtly have female lead San’s battle mask on their chest…
…with a much more dramatic visual statement on the back.
▼ It may not glow in the shirt like the Kodama figures we looked at recently, but this Kodama shirt is still pretty cool.
Rounding out the adult-size T-shirts are designs for Laputa/Castle in the Sky…
…Kiki’s Delivery Service (with black cat Jiji peeking out of the pocket)…
…and Ponyo.
There’s also a trio of bags, with Totoro, Catbus, and Soot Sprite designs…
…and even Soot Sprite socks to keep you Ghibi-ed up from the feet up.
The short-sleeved T-shirts are priced at NT$590 (US$18.15), the button-up and long-sleeved shirts NT$990, the bags NT$390, and the socks NT$130 per pair.
Just like when the Ghibli line came out in Singapore and Thailand, Uniqlo has made no mention of when, or if, these items will be coming to Japan or the U.S. For right now, though, they can be purchased through the Uniqlo Taiwan online shop here.
Source: Uniqlo
Top image: Uniqlo
Insert images: Uniqlo (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17)
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