Written by Charmaine Shaharin
We live in a day and age where everything in fashion from clothes and shoes is a copy of a copy from something. With that, everything is much recognizable and playing “ spot the difference” isn’t that difficult anymore when it comes to comparing different styles in brands. COS and Uniqlo play a big part in that, as both of these retail stores are not only well known but somewhat have related styles but both originate from different backgrounds. Therefore, today we will be getting to know these brands a little more closer and finally see that there is more than meets the eye.
Background
Both COS and Uniqlo have respectable backstories that are very much acknowledged. The only difference between both of these brand stories is the timelines of when they first started retailing. When it comes to Uniqlo, the famous Japanese retail store has been in business since the 1980s when it just started as a warehouse outlet store before opening up its first-ever branch in Tokyo 1998.
Image credits : Uniqlo
Whereas COS began in 2007 as part of Swedish Retail Group H&M but made its way through the market without having to over advertising it’s brand and organizes catwalk shows. COS which stands for “ Collection of styles” now has a worldwide business of 104 stores across 25 countries.
Image Credits : COS
Style
Both of these brands exert similar styles that play around the context of dressing casually and simple but are still considerably different. When it comes to COS’s style, it offers something that is a bit out of the ordinary as their dressing is highly influenced by architecture and design through a Scandinavian fashion aesthetic. At the same time, it houses categories of clothing made for menswear, womenswear and children’s clothing. Therefore, most of its clothing revolves around one toned colour garments with cuts and design with a minimalist feel to it. With that, the principle of the clothes has a sense of style that is modern, timeless and functional and appeals to a niche target audience in certain design fields such as architectures and interior designers.
Image Credits : Porhomme
When it comes to Uniqlo, most of its garments are made for a wide range for all seasons as it’s unique selling point focuses on quality everyday wear for almost anything and everything making its target audience in a much wider scope. Apart from that, it’s style is rather minimalistic and modest which caters for a style of any occasion especially with its in-house signature innovations such as HeatTech, LifeWear and AIRism. Therefore, compared to COS, Uniqlo hosts more collaborations with various artists such as Hana Tajima, Keith Haring and movie and animation companies as well such as Star Wars, Hello Kitty and Dragon Ball which attracts a younger audience range.
Image Credits : Uniqlo
Image Credit : Fashionbeans
Quality
Both of these brands offer good quality clothing. In Uniqlo, besides being known for marketing its minimalist style, it is also well known for its special fabric innovations and works alongside “ Takumi”, an acclaimed Japanese textile company, according to business website, Martin Roll . With that, high-tech fabrics are produced in Uniqlo garments and a definite example can be seen through one of its signature innovations which is HeatTech creation.
Image Credit : Uniqlo
The fabrics in the HeatTech garments are designed to be thin and comfortable but are proposed to retain heat when worn inside the layers of outer clothing. Apart from that, the AIRism innovation focuses on soft fabrics which can dry easily and are featherweight making it suitable for any weather. For COS, the quality in most of its clothing is made by organic cotton which in hindsight does save the environment by saving a large amount of 2,457 litres of water when making a garment as reported by The Guardian. Thus, cotton used in clothes makes it more absorbent composing it to be much more breathable and comfortable when worn. Apart from that, COS winter wear uses staggering amounts of knits, wools and even cashmere cloth for individuals to stay warm and be in comfort at all times.
Price
When it comes to pricing however, due to how these brands serve different markets and target audiences, different demands are set. Uniqlo’s price of clothing ranges from RM 20 and above whilst offering more sales and discounts to please the needs of customers. With that, it’s categories of clothing appeals to a wider crowd, making it more commercialised. In COS’s case, the garments in their store are set at a much higher price due to their exclusive market of designers and offer a lesser range of sales. Another reason being is also due to its fabrics that are ethically sourced, a testament to its high quality and feel of its garments as compared to others.
What we can conclude from these, is that while they are sort of technically the same, they’re also different at the core, both serving different levels of the market with its take on fashion.
To pay these stores a visit, Uniqlo is located in shopping malls around the Klang Valley such as Suria KLCC, Mid Valley and One Utama whereas COS had just opened its third store in Suria KLCC with the other two being in Gardens and Pavilion.
