There’s a specific kind of panic that hits when a UNIQLO collaboration lands and you realise you’ve slept on it. If you were around for the Demon Slayer UT drop, you’ll remember the queues that snaked out of the store before opening.
Here’s your early warning. KAWS UNIVERSE, the newest UT (UNIQLO T-shirt) collection from contemporary artist KAWS, lands in every UNIQLO Singapore store and online on Sunday, 14 September 2026.
And this one has something no previous KAWS x UNIQLO collection has ever had: plush charms.
Meet the Earth, Moon and Sun
KAWS has been working with UNIQLO since 2016, which means an entire generation has grown up treating COMPANION, that slumped cartoon figure with X-ed out eyes, as a normal thing to own. This time, COMPANION has company.
The artist has drawn three new characters for the collection, inspired by the Earth, the Moon and the Sun. The idea behind the whole thing is a line KAWS keeps returning to: “We are better together.”
“I’m excited to launch my next collection with UNIQLO, featuring new characters inspired by universal symbols like the Earth, Moon, and Sun, things we all live under and share, celebrating what brings us together,” KAWS said in the release.
It’s a warmer register than the KAWS most people know from auction headlines and six-figure vinyl figures. The characters are round, soft and a little goofy. They hug each other on the graphics.
The Charms Are the Real Story
Three charm designs, one for each new character, and they clip onto a bag. That’s it. That’s the product.
But it’s the first time a KAWS collaboration with UNIQLO has included plush anything, and it arrives at the exact moment bag charms became the thing everyone under 35 is doing. At S$14.90, it’s also the cheapest entry into a KAWS piece you’re likely to find anywhere.
Compare that to the secondary market for KAWS collectibles and the maths gets funny fast. A fifteen-dollar plush that looks like it belongs in a gallery gift shop is a genuinely rare thing.
What You’re Buying, Exactly
The apparel splits into four adult T-shirt designs and three adult sweatshirts, plus three kids’ tees and three kids’ sweatshirts. Sixteen products in total once you count the charms.
The graphics run playful rather than precious, and KAWS’s signature XX motif turns up as embroidery and small detailing rather than a giant chest print. On one black tee it sits low on the sleeve, which is the kind of placement you notice on someone else before you notice it on yourself.
Adult sizes and kids’ sizes both exist for every category, so the family-matching crowd is fully catered for.
Why KAWS, Why UNIQLO, Why Now
UNIQLO named KAWS its first ever Artist in Residence, a role that covers introducing new collaborators, proposing creative concepts, and appearing at events alongside the brand’s global ambassadors. He works with UNIQLO’s museum partners and shows up at Global Flagship Stores around the world under the banner of Art for All.
That’s a serious commitment to one artist, and it explains why KAWS drops feel different from a one-off licensing deal. UT has put Basquiat and Haring on tees too, as anyone who walked through the UT Graphic T-Universe pop-up at Orchard Central this June will know. KAWS is the one with the residency.
The Prices, Because That’s What You Scrolled For
This is where KAWS UNIVERSE gets genuinely interesting. Adult tees are S$19.90. That’s standard UT pricing, for artwork by someone whose sculptures sell at auction.
Adult sweatshirts run S$39.90, kids’ tees are S$14.90, and kids’ sweatshirts sit at S$29.90. The charms match the kids’ tee price at S$14.90. Nothing in the collection costs more than a delivered lunch for two.
Getting There Before It Goes
The full lineup is available in all UNIQLO Singapore stores and online from 14 September. All of them, which is 29 stores across the island, from ION Orchard and Bugis+ to Jurong Point and Waterway Point.
If history is any guide, the central stores go first. Orchard Central, ION and Bugis+ draw the biggest launch-day crowds for UT collaborations. The heartland stores, Lot One, Sengkang Grand Mall, Pasir Ris Mall, tend to hold stock longer, and a bus ride is cheaper than a resale markup.
Online opens the same day, and if you’d rather not stand anywhere at all, that’s the move.
🗓️ Launch date: Sunday, 14 September 2026
📍 Where: All UNIQLO Singapore stores and uniqlo.com/sg/en
👕 Adult T-shirts: S$19.90, four designs
🧥 Adult sweatshirts: S$39.90, three designs
🧒 Kids’ T-shirts: S$14.90, three designs
🧸 Plush charms: S$14.90, three designs, sold separately
A fifteen-dollar plush charm by an artist whose work hangs in museums is the most accessible KAWS has ever been.
Set a reminder for Sunday morning, decide now whether you’re a Sun person or a Moon person, and check the KAWS UNIVERSE page on UNIQLO Singapore for the full lineup before the doors open. If you’re planning to buy more than one charm, go early: accessories in artist collaborations have a habit of disappearing while the tees are still hanging.
Visuals courtesy of UNIQLO Singapore.
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