CASHMERE HOODIE AND CARDIGAN

BATONER and TOKYO DESIGN STUDIO New Balance are back with a new capsule, this time built entirely around cashmere: a hooded sweatshirt and a cardigan, both knitted from 100% cashmere. They go on sale from 24 October, first at Dover Street Market Ginza.

BATONER was founded in 2013 in Sagae, in Yamagata Prefecture, an area known for its knitwear production. It began as a label of the manufacturer OKUYAMA MERIYASU, established in 1951, and controls the process from raw material to finished garment. TOKYO DESIGN STUDIO New Balance is the Tokyo design line of New Balance. The two have worked together before: last autumn's FW25 capsule, a crew neck and a hoodie in a blend of unshrunk wool and recycled polyester, followed an earlier first collaboration.

The starting point this time is the sports uniform, as a symbol of belonging and of collective identity. BATONER translates it into its signature 7-gauge knit. The cashmere makes the pieces thick but light and warm, so they work as a layer or as outerwear.

The details come from the authentic sweatshirt. Sleeves and side panels use different stitches and a three-dimensional pattern, which rebuilds the stretch of traditional katawane knitting in an athletic cut. The hoodie goes as far as a drawcord in cashmere. The yellow stitched on the brand tag at the pocket refers to the colours of the Procare Program, run in the United States in the 1990s.

The two pieces are priced at 144,980 yen and 124,960 yen, tax included. They are released first during an OPEN HOUSE at Dover Street Market Ginza, from 24 October. From 30 October they also go on sale at selected New Balance stores, on the New Balance online store and at BATONER's flagship and other stores.