UNIQLO is well-known for having some of the best collaborations in the fashion biz and now UNIQLO UT and Pop Mart have joined forces on a t-shirt collaboration, “The Monsters,” who are Pop Mart’s bunch of tiny, playful elves that call the Nordic forest their home. This partnership joins the likes of UNIQLO x JW Anderson, Jil Sander and KAWS as a collab that brings out our inner shopaholics.
The characters were created by artist and writer Kasing Lung and feature the outrageously popular Labubu. How popular? Well, superstar designer Marc Jacobs wears multiple Labubus on his handbag and has helped make Labubu the fashion accessory of the year. PAPER got in on the fun with Pop Mart and UNIQLO UT to celebrate the Monsters with a high-fashion shindig at everyone’s favorite hangout, the blond.
Our stylish crowd climbed the blond’s signature spiral staircase and were greeted by a photobooth, where they channeled their inner supermodels and showed off their UT x Pop Mart shirts (and Labubus) they’d adorned themselves with. Just inside the venue was a gifting table where guests could choose their own t-shirts from the collection; the black, white, gray or pink shirts featured colorful Monsterland illustrations. As new arrivals chose their personal t-shirts, a cavalcade of cuties lounged on banquettes, sipping specialty cocktails (the Hidden Grove Margarita and the Mischievous Sour), bopping to the musical stylings of DJ Haruka.
All around, guests showed off their favorite tees from the collection and compared them with their friends. I tried to keep track of which color t-shirt was most popular and I was thinking the pink and the white were going to be number one but since every single t-shirt found a happy home with a party guest, it looks like every color was the most popular. The Pop Mart half-zip sweatshirt seemed to be the first one to be ‘sold-out’ at the party. It’s a fabulous way to stay warm AND stylish in this chilly weather.
Writer Harry Hill told me, “I love my UNIQLO tee with the Monsters because I don’t always remember to bring my Labubu with me.” Harry then showed off his latest purchase, which seemed to be the hot trend: mini Labubus. “I just got the small one which is super chic and fits on everything,“ he explained, as the mini Labubu hung from on his Balenciaga rodeo bag in black. “We’re chillin’ at the Uniqlo UT & PAPER party and everything is groovy.”
Creative Director Valerie Zhang wore the same UTxPopMart white tee as Harry but she gave her look a business casual twist by adding a shirt and tie over it. She also had her Labubus on her handbag. “I have 4 Labubus, “ she explained. “This one matches my bag and also the mini one looks really cute together.” And indeed, it had a mother/daughter Labubu look.
Since I have an Eiffel Tower keychain on my handbag, I got festive in my white Monsterland t-shirt and my black UNIQLO pants. At first I wanted to wear the t-shirt backwards because the illustration on the back is so fun and fabulous.
Besides Harry Hill and Valerie Zhang, other party guests included myself, Mickey Boardman, alongside Anya Tisdale, Brittany Byrd, Carlisle Aikens, Chloe Jane, Cjay Syres, Coco Bassey, Emma Rogue, Gia Seo, Jack Powers, Jo Rosenthal, Kai Lee, Max Abrams, Perris Howard, Rob Li, and Tana Mongeau.
This article is a collaboration between UNIQLO and PAPER
Photographer: Anneliese Horowitz
