Fast Retailing establishes Denim Innovation Centre

FAST Retailing has just established the Denim Innovation Centre, the group’s first facility to focus on research and development of denim fabric, in Los Angeles, California, a city popularly known as the home of denim.
This facility aims to bring specialists in jeans development, from premium denim brand J Brand and other Fast Retailing Group companies, to develop jeans utilising innovative technologies and materials based on the established tradition of jeans.
In fact, its first project is to research on jeans for Uniqlo and J Brand. Products developed for both brands will be available from the autumn/winter 2017 season.
By establishing the Denim Innovation Centre, the global hub for information on denim, Fast Retailing will be able to quickly incorporate the essence of current trends in its designs.
Focusing on the “3Fs” (Fabric, Fit, and Finish), the key elements in making jeans, the centre will develop fabrics with the leading fabric makers worldwide, as well as conduct research and development (R&D) on the latest production technologies, to make jeans that look exceptional and are comfortable to wear.
Moreover, the centre has a full range of in-house equipments for product development, in order to produce higher quality jeans. Previously, Fast Retailing outsourced the production of samples and other operations to external manufacturers.
But now with the Denim Innovation Centre, the company will be able to manage the entire process in-house. By using the latest equipment, the centre will be able to quickly create and evaluate sample products, enhancing the speed and quality of product development considerably.
The centre can also be used by contracted producers as a research centre, which will increase the integrity of the finished product during actual production. In addition, the facility will focus on environmentally friendly processing and production methods, conducting R&D on chemicals and techniques used for fading and distressing of jeans.
Uniqlo too has a longstanding partnership with Kaihara Corporation, well-known as a maker of high-quality Japanese denim. Hence, through cooperation with such world-leading fabric manufacturers, Uniqlo will offer jeans of the highest quality material to people globally.