Uniqlo sister brand GU taps luxury designer to sell $24 jeans

GU, the lower-priced brand under Uniqlo owner Fast Retailing, is betting a former luxury fashion designer can help turn $24 jeans into global success.

The retailer, known in Japan for being fashion-forward and inexpensive, has unveiled the first collection overseen by Francesco Risso, the former creative director of Italian luxury label Marni.

GU is seeking to use Risso’s collection to build its brand recognition for international expansion and step out of the shadow of its more famous sibling Uniqlo.

The collection, which starts sales in Japanese stores in late July, spans six design themes including minimalist, classic, playful and sports-inspired styles in bright tones and patterns. A pair of jeans will retail for 2,990 yen (S$23.60), about 2,000 yen cheaper than a comparable Uniqlo pair.

Risso’s role at GU reflects a broader trend of mass fashion brands turning to creative talent from luxury fashion houses to generate publicity, elevate products and strengthen brand identity, according to Achim Berg, founder of Germany-based FashionSights and former global head of McKinsey & Co’s apparel and luxury practice. 

“It’s one way of creating excitement for the offering,” he said. “There’s a greater fluidity between high-end fashion, luxury and the mass market.”

Designer collaborations have become a new normal for fashion brands. Zara recently announced a two-year collaboration with former Dior creative director John Galliano. Uniqlo itself has benefited from long-running partnerships with high fashion designers, and its creative director Clare Waight Keller previously worked at Chloe and Givenchy.

Fast Retailing founder and billionaire Tadashi Yanai has repeatedly said GU’s growth potential is comparable to Uniqlo’s, and has set a long-term annual revenue target of one trillion yen for the smaller brand. The company plans to test Risso’s collections in Japan, with plans to accelerate global expansion afterwards.

The push to reinvent GU follows years of mixed results. The brand’s business remains relatively small, and Fast Retailing’s chief financial officer Takeshi Okazaki said last week that previous GU collections did not resonate well with younger consumers.

Operating profit at GU fell 9.5 per cent in 2025, and annual revenue was 331 billion yen, roughly one-ninth the size of Uniqlo. Its previous overseas expansion effort has stalled since opening a flagship store in New York’s SoHo in 2024. It also has stores in China, Hong Kong and Taiwan.

“The challenge for GU is to define what it stands for and to offer a clear positioning and value proposition that goes beyond simply being Uniqlo’s sister brand,” said Takahiro Kazahaya, a senior analyst at UBS Securities. 

While Uniqlo has built a global business around functional products such as Heattech and Airism that address universal consumer needs, style-focused brands like GU face risks because trends vary significantly by geographic location.

Still, Fast Retailing’s bet is that Risso’s name recognition and experience from European fashion houses can sharpen GU’s identity overseas. And typically, such collaborations can help a brand raise prices, said FashionSights’ Berg. 

“It’s also a way for brands to test how far they can be elevated,” he said. BLOOMBERG