I have stumbled on Uniqlo while around Tokyo. I was surprised how cheap it is, minimalist the styles were, and how very good the material/quality is. I have been mainly purchasing from Celio, Mango, H&M (ie: the European brands). My experience is that the clothes will last less than a year before becoming too washed to be wear. Clothes I bought from Uniqlo still look very good now 1.5 year later. Looks like they'll last for a couple more years.
I'm surprised Uniqlo didn't take over the world in fashion. But EU/US buyers might not be careful enough to care about quality and just focus on how it looks like today.
> and how very good the material/quality is. I have been mainly purchasing from Celio, Mango, H&M (ie: the European brands).
Compared to those cheap brands, sure. I've mainly bought Uniqlo clothes for the last 4 years, and they've been decaying at about a slightly slower rate (maybe 0.75x) than similar brands to those you listed, but for each item, I estimate that it was probably 2-3x as expensive as their cheap counterpart.
In contrast to that, I also still wear some skateboard clothes that run in the same price range as Uniqlo and are ~10 years old by, which hold up much better (with most of the damage coming from my cat). I don't have any illusions that any of my Uniqlo stuff will last that long.
I still like Uniqlo, as they provide one of the most straightforward shopping experiences for someone who doesn't like shopping, but there is certainly room for improvement in their quality.
Edit: Also if you haven't checked the cheaper brands in the last 4 years, you might not be aware that their quality deteriorated rapidly especially for Nike/Adidas.
Can say the same about skateboard shirts, I’m still regularly wearing an Emerica shirt I bought in late 2006 and an Emerica hoodie I bought around the same time.
I live in the UK and I absolutely love Uniqlo. Previously I had to wait until a visit to London but now there are more stores in the UK. The quality is amazing and here in the UK they even do free alterations depending on the price of the item.
So the general impression on Reddit is: Zara, the most fashion forward, quality so-so. H&M, moderately fashion-forward, quality hit-or-miss. Uniqlo, moderately fashion-forward, quality above average.
My Uniqlo pieces generally last at least 3 years with weekly wear. That's not bad at all. In the past decade, I've thrown out maybe 2 Uniqlo shirts due to fraying. Fast-fashion produces a lot of environmental waste, so quality matters.
Same. The first time I went to a Uniqlo was in Tokyo. I was amazed. There's one in Amsterdam (I'm Dutch) so I revisited and was surprised with almost the exact same experience. As when I went shopping in New York, beginning this year.
The quality of these clothes, especially for this price range, is extraordinary. H&M - my previous go-to shop - is utter crap in comparison.
The quality is definitly on the better side but the brand has the same ethical issues as H&M and others. There are other 'basic' brands like ASKET that may be a bit more expensive, but don't have these problems in their supply chain.
How are you sure? ASKET has a factory not that far from were I live. I can't find the factory anywhere on the map but looking at some of the provided photos, they don't have air-conditioners. This place becomes boiling hot in the summer. I can't affirm for 100% certainty that they are a shitty workplace but I'll bet $100 that they are as shitty as the rest of textile factories here.
I'm surprised Uniqlo didn't take over the world in fashion. But EU/US buyers might not be careful enough to care about quality and just focus on how it looks like today.