What Does The Uniqlo-Solange Art Collab Mean For Asia?

The Japanese fast-fashion brand has partnered Queen Bey’s (aka Beyonce) younger sister Solange on Metatronia, an installation-performance artwork at the Los Angeles’ Hammer Museum.

While the Japanese retailer has been known for its collaborations with contemporary pop cultural and design icons on its fashion collections, the Solange tie-up could herald backing across the globe, particularly Asia.

According to the ASN Index, Uniqlo has spent almost US$14.5m in the Asian Sponsorship landscape since 2015, making it the third-largest spender (3.7%) for the Apparel (Non-sport) category. The brand’s typical plays across the region have been celebrity endorsements with the likes popular Chinese actor Ni Ni, Taiwanese actor Gwen Lun Mei, model Nozomi Sasaki and tennis stars Kei Nishikori and Shingo Kunieda.

However, its quarterly spends (averaging US$1.28m) declined from Q217 dropping to a mere US$321k in Q118, primarily due to a slate of withdrawals in the past year, namely:

. Tennis superstar Novak Djokovic             

. Taiwanese entertainer Vic Chou 

. Singaporean actors Desmond Tan & Rebecca Lim

. Thailand’s leg of the Vertical Marathon & Elle Bangkok Fashion Week

But the Japanese fashion and retailer’s spending is likely to spike in the next few quarters, as Japan plays host to a series of major global sporting events such as the 2019 Rugby World Cup and 2020 Summer Olympics.