The Sashiko Gals are the world’s most coveted knitting club. The group of 23 Japanese female artisans –– aged between 40 to 80 –– are almost single-handedly reviving the historic art of sashiko right now. Literally translated as “little stabs,” the traditional Japanese practice revolves around intricate decorative stitching to mend and embellish garments. And it's seriously in demand right now, tethered to the craft revolution currently informing luxury at large.

Now, the Sashiko Gals have turned their masterful hands to LOOPWHEELER, the Japanese brand spinning ineffably soft sweats using vintage loopwheel machines. LOOPWHEELER may only be 27 or so years old but its meticulous techniques are downright ancient, using machines older than some of the folks who operate them. Combining this special loopwheel fabric and sashiko is, the collective say, a “new tradition” — a compelling paradox that hums with a quiet beauty. Ancient but modern.

“Traditionally, sashiko is usually stitched with unbleached or off-white thread, or sometimes navy. But we tend to stitch in a much more colorful, pop-inspired way,” said Arata Fujiwara, the founder of Japanese menswear brand KUON, in a video accompanying the collaboration. The Sashiko Gals edition is based on LOOPWHEELER'S fleecey LW360 sweat, which features side gussets, wider ribbing and a gently relaxed fit. The uniform-grey canvas is embellished with scar-like stitches in tones of lemon, sky blue, crimson, and earth. Different colored stitching is even used to designate the size of the sweat, with threads left hanging to create movement.

The result is a series of classic-looking sweaters dressed in a classic technique that wind up looking quite timeless, modern even. It helps that the garments are cut with contemporary tastes in mind but so do that splashy dribs and drabs of thread that dot each item, sometimes even spelling out "LOOPWHEELER" in Katakana.

This discerning fusion of the old and new is central to the Sashiko Gals ethos. The tight-knit group originally joined forces after the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake, rebuilding their lives through knitting and calling themselves the Otsuchi Recovery Sashiko Project. Fujiwara saw the potential and became their flagbearer, renaming them Sashiko Gals in 2024.

Then, they started freewheeling. In 2025 alone, they got to work on a series of C.P. Company jackets, The North Face puffers, and New Balance sneakers (outrageous, considering that sashiko on a single garment can take hours, days or even weeks of painstaking, blood-drawing flow-state stitching). Sadly, a pair of custom Nike Vomeros were exclusive to Apple CEO Tim Cook but we will forgive the Gals, as they cooked.

This peaking interest — — the Gals' Instagram comments section is thriving with doting fans — is integral to the future of sashiko. “Without demand, most things, unfortunately, tend to fade away,” Fujiwara said. Thankfully, brands are lining up to get their pieces reworked by the Sashiko Gals. It’s clearly tied into a deep interest in Japanese craft, as seen via the new Onitsuka Innovative Factory, the hype surrounding A.PRESSE’s artful fabrics, and AURALEE getting its flowers for its clean-cut grails. And sashiko is, of course, small-"s" sustainable, a genuinely thrifty practice related to the concept of mottainai (“what a waste!”)

But it’s also proof that new traditions really can be established, that the past can be conscientiously brought into the present in order to ensure a future. And in our world of automation, human intervention is a form of luxury, because it takes time. Nothing about Sashiko Gals’ work is effortless. But that’s what makes it so special.

Highsnobiety has affiliate marketing partnerships, which means we may receive a commission from your purchase. Want to shop the products our editors actually love? Visit HS Shopping for recs on all things fashion, footwear, and beauty.