Uniqlo launched a fresh set of three styles in Southeast Asia this month, ensuring that the hijab remains a permanent LifeWear category rather than an occasional designer collaboration.
The new line from the Japanese retailer comprises the AIRism UV Protection Hijab, Georgette Hijab and Satin Hijab, along with inner caps. The AIRism version features the brand’s cooling fabric, UPF50+ protection and a triangular shape for quick everyday wear, while the georgette and satin options provide more traditional draping styles.
The rollout has not happened on exactly the same date everywhere. Indonesia launched the collection on 10 August, according to Uniqlo’s local website, where the three hijabs are priced at about $11 each. Malaysia launched on 17 August at around $15, while Singapore’s new range is listed at roughly $16, with some styles limited to selected stores.
Uniqlo said parts of the collection were selling out fast online and in stores just days after the Malaysian launch. The AIRism hijab will be available for pre-order from 21 August at 9am, while stocks last.
That early demand comes after a somewhat bumpy introduction. Some Malaysian social media users had criticised campaign images before the launch, where the scarves were styled with parts of the neck visible, saying they did not meet their understanding of hijab. Some said the criticism was an overzealous policing of women’s dress.
However, the new collection can’t be called Uniqlo’s first-ever hijabs. The retailer has worked with British-Japanese designer Hana Tajima on modest fashion for more than a decade, and those collections included AIRism hijabs. Later they would hit markets such as the US, the UK and Japan.
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The difference is that the new collection is being billed as Uniqlo’s first, standalone, permanent hijab collection, rather than a product associated with the Tajima collaboration. That puts hijabs alongside the company’s regular LifeWear basics and signals a longer-term move into the modest-fashion market.
All three countries, Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore, have the new 2026 products up on their official Uniqlo sites as of 19 August. There have also been reports of the Philippines, but Uniqlo’s Philippine shopfront currently displays the older Hana Tajima AIRism hijab, not the three new 2026 styles, so a full Philippine rollout could not be independently confirmed.
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