Uniqlo Singapore's 'Local Delights' T-shirts sparked a copycat backlash

Uniqlo Singapore launched a limited-edition UTme! collection in late May 2025 celebrating Singapore's local cuisine, featuring dishes including 328 Katong Laksa, Song Fa Bak Kut Teh, chilli crab, chicken rice, and kaya butter toast. The T-shirts, priced at S$29.90, were designed in collaboration with local artists Tiffany Lovage and Kenneth Seow.

Shortly after the launch, Singaporean brand Musoka Club accused Uniqlo of copying its own 'Dress code: Kopitiam edition' collection released in July 2023, which featured the same five dishes at prices between S$59 and S$79. Customers noticed the shared design elements — illustrated arrows with brief food descriptions accompanying each dish — and began messaging Musoka Club asking whether the Uniqlo collection was a collaboration.

Musoka Club founder Elaine called the resemblance 'too similar' to ignore. The controversy was amplified when it was noted that Kenneth Seow, one of Uniqlo's collaborating artists, followed Musoka Club on Instagram. An Instagram user commented: 'This is clearly a copy from Musoka Club, not cool at all.'

Uniqlo Singapore issued a response that did not directly address the copying allegations, instead framing the collection as part of its ongoing celebration of Singaporean food culture, citing earlier UTme! collections in 2017 and 2020 as precedent.