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Clocked in a lot of museum time this summer but don't have the gift shop swag to prove it? As always, UNIQLO has the answer to your dilemma, for less than the cost of admission. SPRZ NY, a stylized abbreviation of "Surprise New York," launched earlier this year as a collaboration between the Japanese retailer, renowned artists, and the Museum of Modern Art. Following the success of their first partnership, they've teamed up once again to provide you with even more ways to show off your art savvy.
The combined collection-and-experience brings some of the most well-known modern and contemporary artists to UNIQLO's global flagship on Fifth Avenue — and to your favorite basics. For their freshman collection, long-sleeved T-shirts and cropped sweatshirts got the artsy treatment from Andy Warhol, Keith Haring, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Jackson Pollock, and Yayoi Kusama, just to name a few. Now, they're expanding their roster to include Julian Opie, Robert Mapplethorpe, Sam Francis, David Shrigley, and El Lissitzky — with a new artist collaboration released monthly. Meanwhile, the second floor of UNIQLO's global flagship in New York becomes a de facto gallery, displaying each artist's sartorial creations much like a museum would. Shopping for basics has never felt more cultured.
It's not the first time the relationship between art and fashion has been explored (see: the Anna Wintour Costume Center at the Met). But, if you don't have $25,000 and a couture dress lying around your apartment, SPRZ NY lets you celebrate this marriage in a much more budget-friendly way. Prices range from $5.90 to $79.90, and some of our favorite items from the collection — notably, the graphic sweatshirts — don't retail over $30, making them less expensive than the souvenirs at the gift shop.
Ahead, check out some of the newest additions to SPRZ NY from Warhol, Haring, Basquiat, Daniel Joseph Martinez, Jack Pierson, Lawrence Weiner, and more.
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