Brand: Needles
Season: Spring/Summer 2022
Key Pieces: Nothing is more quintessentially Needles than the brand's signature track pants but their signature Papillon ("Butterfly") logo has been transferred to all kinda items, including denim jackets, blazers, work shirts, jeans, jewelry, and some sparkly caps.
Editor's Notes: It's never not the '70s in Needles World. Keizo Shimizu's long-running Japanese brand always draws from the vintage apparel in Shimizu's deep archive — unless said garment doesn't exist, at which point Needles simply invents it. Even with inspirations running the gamut from turn-of-the-century clothing design to contemporary music, Needles views the world through the lens of a hippie's glasses. That's not to say that the label merely replays the hits, however, as Needles isn't interested in playing lip service.
SS22 again sees Needles reshaping retro cues, incorporating leather jackets, giant blazers, spread collar shirts, flared jeans, and patterned track suits into a hodgepodge of over-the-top styling. The signature tracksuit, of course, returns in a plethora of makes and shapes — including new sweatsuit and jogger iterations — but those patterns steal the show, as usual. Vivid geometric patterns mingle with stripes, plaids, florals, batiks, and psychedelic swirls to create the usual Needles palette: an all-inclusive display of blinding contrasts.
Beneath all the intentional chaos, however, Needles comes correct with a slew of wearable pieces. Timeless trucker jackets, tie-dyed tees, summer shirts, and giant H.D. Trousers are all present, occasionally enlivened by that inimitable Papillon print. Easy bucket bags and bucket hats join the fray along with new takes on Needles' chunky ghillie sneaker, realized here with suede kiltie panels to kick up the kitsch.
