Unique Clothing Warehouse opened in Ube, Yamaguchi in 1984, as the second retail outlet created by Ogori Shōji (now Fast Retailing). They previously operated a male-oriented store called Men's Shop OS and wanted to make a new outlet to cater to a broader audience.
Uni-Qlo[]
1991–1997[]
SVG NEEDED
In 1988, Unique Clothing Warehouse underwent a rebrand. Part of the process was to rename themselves 'Uni-Clo'; a contraction of "unique" and "clothing". However, the registry office misinterpreted the 'C' as a 'Q'. The blunder inadvertently birthed the name "Uni-Qlo". Rather than inform the office of their mistake, they embraced the unexpected new identity and pressed on with the rebrand in 1991.
Richard Seireeni and Sy Chen (The Brand Architect Group)
Typography:
Unknown
Launched:
1997
In 1997, the logo was dramatically altered, when Uniqlo decided to focus on private-label apparel and expand overseas. The new logo was the word "UNIQLO" in a stacked formation against a wine red-coloured square. This logo continued to be used in Japan alongside the next logo below until 2009.
The current logo added a distinctly Japanese feel to the new international brand. The color turned to a hew matching the Japanese flag. The new logo is rewritten in a custom typeface and paired with a second logo in Katakana reading "ユニクロ" (yunikuro). This logo premiered on its first global flagship store in the SoHo fashion district of Manhattan, New York City in November 2006. It became an official logo in Japan since 2009.
“I wanted to make Uniqlo a brand that represents the so-called ‘Cool Japan’ and embodies Japanese pop culture, which is why I used katakana in the logo.”
