KAWS is moving into a brand new position with UNIQLO as the style model’s first artist in residence, the most recent in its ongoing sequence of collaborations with artists. The appointment was introduced on September fifteenth, throughout New York Style Week, on the Museum of Modern Art.
KAWS, whose actual identify is Brian Donnelly, is understood for his “Companions”—cartoonish, hollow-eyed figures that blur the road between collectibles and modern artwork. As artist in residence, KAWS will assist the UNIQLO’s goal to democratize artwork and design for a world viewers by occasions staged at shops worldwide and collaborations with museum companions. He may even take part in creating new LifeWear collections, the primary of which might be launched within the fall/winter 2025 season.
KAWS’s relationship to the worldwide retailer dates again to 2016. Final 12 months, UNIQLO launched the KAWS + Warhol UT collection, that includes clothes with paintings by KAWS and Andy Warhol. Beforehand, they collaborated on collections that includes characters from Sesame Road and Peanuts in addition to KAWS’s personal “Companions.”
“I admire them giving me this chance to be extra concerned within the firm,” KAWS stated in the course of the announcement occasion. “The most effective issues about working with UNIQLO is the attain.”
In keeping with a press launch from UNIQLO, the brand new place will embody a number of duties past product design. KAWS might be tasked with introducing new collaborators and growing inventive ideas for the model. Moreover, the artist will contribute to future editions of UT Grand Prix—the retailer’s annual t-shirt design competitors—and be a part of occasions alongside model ambassadors.
“In our ever-evolving world, artwork is now extra necessary than ever as an expression of our humanity. KAWS has been breaking the normal boundaries of the artwork world, simply as UNIQLO in its efforts to redefine the attire business by LifeWear,” UNIQLO’s president of worldwide inventive of quick retailing, John C. Jay, stated in a press assertion. “As our artist in residence, KAWS will assist Uniqlo to broaden the worldwide appreciation and participation of artwork and creativity for all.”
