It would be forgiving to discuss the Japanese label Needles without mentioning the Nepenthes umbrella company first. Nepenthes was established in 1988 by Keizo Shimizu as a Japanese distributor specialising in US-made goods. Shimizu later partnered up with Daiki Suzuki and the pair formed Engineered Garments in the garment district of Manhattan, New York City.

Nepenthes’ in-house brand Needles was born in 1997 and currently sits with sister labels such as Engineered Garments, Sonic Labs and South2 West8, all under the Nepenthes parent company. The founder and designer, Shimizu has a very particular, vintage-inspired taste and continues to source vintage dealers and manufacturers inside America.

Needles has a cult following around the globe due to its ‘Made in Japan’ craftsmanship, unique aesthetic and small-run collections. Needles is a new brand to The Hip Store for SS18 and our first delivery includes the cut-and-sew, truly unique ‘rebuild’ shirts. In addition to this stand-out item are butterfly-embroidered tracksuits from the Needles ‘sportswear’ collection as well as workwear jackets, shirts and t-shirts.