GU (ジーユー) announced its 2026 Fall/Winter collection on July 14. This is not a character collaboration or a limited-run capsule of the kind GU releases regularly. The entire fall/winter lineup has been rebuilt.
If GU is new to you, it's Uniqlo's lower-priced sister brand — same parent company, Fast Retailing (ファーストリテイリング).
The rebuild is Francesco Risso's work. GU named him creative director on January 8, 2026, and this is his first collection for the brand. He was creative director at the Italian label Marni (マルニ) from 2016 to 2025.
Stores in Japan start carrying it in late July, with prices in the release starting at ¥1,290. If your trip runs past the end of July, what you find on the racks may not look much like the GU you remember.
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Image used with permission
Behind the rebuild: GU's 20th anniversary
GU and Fast Retailing released the announcement jointly. It covers the whole fall/winter lineup rather than a single line or sub-brand.
GU frames it as a twentieth-anniversary reset. The release talks about returning to "freedom," the idea behind the name GU itself, and says the six concepts were built out from there.
Risso's comment in the release reads, in part: "For me, the greatest appeal of clothing lies in how it stays close to daily life. Today's wardrobe asks for ease of use, but also for imagination, individuality, and a sense of play. The six concepts are an attempt to give shape to that."
Late July, with no date attached
The only timing GU has published is a single sentence: the new collection rolls out in earnest starting in late July. As of July 18, the company has not said which day shelves change over, whether every store switches at once, or whether items arrive in waves.
So a store visit in late July might still turn up the old lineup. If you would rather travel on a confirmed date, check GU's news page and its "coming soon" listings before you fly.
Official news: GU Official news
Coming soon: Women’s items
Coming soon: Men's items
The six concepts, from Minimal to Cozy
Here is how GU describes them. They read less like product categories and more like one wardrobe re-sorted by occasion.
Image used with permission
GU Minimal — Built on black. Simple, stripped of excess, and broad enough for most situations.
GU Classic — Seventies shapes updated for now, casual and a little nostalgic.
GU Playful — Prints and bright colors meant to be layered freely. The most expressive of the six.
GU Utility — Functional, practical pieces intended to work from the city to the outdoors.
GU Sport — Retro sportswear from the eighties and nineties, colorful and street-leaning.
GU Cozy — Pastels and soft textures, centered on loungewear and innerwear.
If you're packing for a trip, GU Utility and GU Cozy are the closest fit, and GU Playful or GU Sport are where you would look for something patterned to take home. GU assigned each of the twelve items to a concept, so the table below shows which is which.
Buying winter clothes in a Japanese July
Late July in Japan is genuinely hot. A padded jacket or a knit is not going to earn its place in your suitcase for the rest of the trip.
The case for looking anyway is that you are buying for the autumn you go home to. And if you have come from Australia or New Zealand, where July is winter, Japan's fall/winter stock is simply in-season clothing.
Prices in the release: ¥1,290 to ¥5,990
Twelve items appear with photos in the announcement. All prices include tax. The Japanese names are what you'll see on the tag in store.
Item | Concept | Price (tax incl.) |
|---|---|---|
Fine Gauge Knit V-Neck Cardigan, men's (ファインゲージニットVネックカーディガン) | GU Minimal | ¥1,990 |
Faux Leather Balloon Hem Hoodie, women's (フェイクレザーバルーンヘムパーカ) | GU Minimal | ¥5,990 |
Tucked Tapered Pants, men's (タックテーパードパンツ) | GU Classic | ¥2,990 |
Cropped "Baby" Jacket, women's, 7/8 sleeve (ベビージャケット/8分袖) | GU Classic | ¥4,990 |
Color Canvas Sneakers, unisex (カラーキャンバススニーカー) | GU Playful | ¥1,990 |
Super Wide Jeans, men's (スーパーワイドジーンズ) | GU Playful | ¥2,990 |
Warm Waffle Crew Neck T, men's, long sleeve (ウォームワッフルクルーネックT/長袖) | GU Utility | ¥1,290 |
3D Barrel Jeans, women's (3Dバレルジーンズ) | GU Utility | ¥2,990 |
Heavyweight Sweat Cocoon Hoodie, men's (ヘビーウェイトスウェットコクーンパーカ) | GU Sport | ¥2,990 |
Warm Padded Stand Blouson, men's (ウォームパデットスタンドブルゾン) | GU Sport | ¥5,990 |
Warm Pointelle Crew T, women's, extra-long sleeve (ウォームポインテールクルーT/12分袖) | GU Cozy | ¥1,290 |
Satin Easy Pants, women's (サテンイージーパンツ) | GU Cozy | ¥1,990 |
Across the range: innerwear sits at ¥1,290, knits and sneakers at ¥1,990, jeans and sweats at ¥2,990, and outerwear between ¥4,990 and ¥5,990.
These twelve are not the whole collection, and GU has not published a ceiling price for it. Treat the range above as a floor and check the rest in store or online.
Francesco Risso: Prada, Marni, and now GU
Image used with permission
Fast Retailing's January 8, 2026 announcement describes Risso as Italian-born, trained in Florence, New York, and London, with ten years at Prada behind him.
Marni is a label known for how it handles color and pattern. GU Playful sitting among the six concepts tracks with that.
The most recent Risso piece you can actually buy in Japan is the UNIQLO F.RISSO summer capsule, released on June 19, 2026.
Tax-free at GU: all stores, ¥5,500 minimum — plus the Nov 1 change
GU's official FAQ says tax-free service is available at all of its stores in Japan. Online store purchases are excluded.
The main requirements are a purchase of ¥5,500 (¥5,000 before tax) or more, a stay in Japan of under six months, and either your passport or a Visit Japan Web tax-free QR code at the register.
The six-month rule is counted from your entry date, and short-stay visitors get a landing permission stamp automatically at immigration — nothing extra to arrange.
Even so, registering with Visit Japan Web before you fly is worth the few minutes it takes: the QR code gets you through checkout faster than handing over a passport.
The threshold is judged on your total at one store on one day. Purchases made across separate days are not added together, so do it all in one visit if you can.
To put numbers on it: three ¥1,990 items come to ¥5,970, which clears the threshold on its own. Five ¥1,290 T-shirts come to ¥6,450.
One more thing if you're traveling in the fall. From November 1, 2026, Japan moves to a refund system: you pay the tax-included price at the register, then receive the consumption tax back after customs confirms the goods on your way out of the country.
GU has not published how that will work in its stores, and as of July 18 the announcement doesn't spell out the purchase threshold or the stay requirement under the new system. If you are coming after October, check the National Tax Agency and Japan Tourism Agency guidance along with GU's own site.
We cover the change and how it compares across chains in the Don Quijote tax-free guide.
Four things to check before you go
Sizing: centimeters, not letter sizes
GU lists garment measurements in centimeters on each product page. Check those against something you already own rather than going by the letter size on the label.
Store locator: stock varies by branch
That varies from branch to branch, so look up the one you plan to visit and check its hours before you go.
Official Site: Store locator
Availability outside Japan: varies by market
Ranges differ from market to market, so there's no guarantee the same piece will be waiting for you at home. If you are on the fence, buying it in Japan is the safer call.
GU does sell abroad — it opened its first overseas flagship in SoHo, New York in September 2024, with an online store shipping across the United States.
Yen prices: Japan only
The table lists yen prices from the Japanese announcement. Stores and online shops in other markets will not necessarily match them.
Related reading
▶ What to Wear in Japan in Summer 2026: Heat, Humidity & Rain
▶ Japan Summer Sales 2026: Still Time, Outlets Run to Aug 16
This article was translated from the original Japanese with AI assistance and reviewed by our editorial team. The Japanese version is authoritative.
