Uniqlo has partnered with world-renowned Japanese author Haruki Murakami for its latest t-shirt collaboration.
Called Haruki Murakami / Murakami Radio UT Collection, the clothing and accessories line features eight unique t-shirts, three pins, and a sticker sheet all inspired by the writer’s best-selling novels and radio show in Japan.
The t-shirts, which will be available in a full range of adult sizes, are adorned with motifs based on the memorable phrases and striking cover designs of Murakami’s novels Pinball 1973, Norwegian Wood, Dance Dance Dance, Sputnik Sweetheart, Kafka on the Shore, and 1Q84.
Illustrations of the cat featured on Murakami Radio, the music program that Murakami himself produces and hosts, also appear on some of the t-shirts. Murakami Radio broadcasts on TOKYO FM and other stations in the JFN38 network in Japan.
Retailing from $5.90 to $19.90, all items from the Haruki Murakami / Murakami Radio UT Collection will officially launch on Monday, March 15th. The t-shirts will be available in Uniqlo stores across the world and on uniqlo.com. The pins will be available in Uniqlo’s 5th Avenue store in New York City and online, while the stickers can only be purchased online.
Born in Kyoto, Japan, in 1949, Murakami graduated from the First Department of Literature, Waseda University. His debut novel Hear the Wind Sing was published in 1979, while his 1987 novel Norwegian Wood became a best seller. Several of his works are surrealistic and are often characterized by recurrent themes of alienation and loneliness. Though his works are sometimes criticized as un-Japanese, Murakami was praised by Steven Poole of The Guardian as “among the world’s greatest living novelists.”