PLAID SHIRTS, MOHAIR AND COWICHAN KNITS

NEEDLES and PENDLETON release a collaborative collection on Saturday 24 October. According to the Japanese press, it is the first time the two have worked together, and the idea is simple: take Pendleton's traditional plaids and woolens and run them through Needles' most familiar shapes.

NEEDLES is the in-house label of NEPENTHES, the Tokyo shop founded by Keizo Shimizu in the late 1980s as an importer of American goods. The label is known for mixing American workwear and Western references with Japanese cuts and fabrics. PENDLETON, the woolen mill whose campaign tag reads "since 1863", supplies the other half of the equation: the checks and blanket-weight wool that the Oregon company is known for.

The range leans on loose, boxy silhouettes. The CLASSIC SHIRT and the PEN JACKET both take a roomy box cut, and the H.D. PANT adds a relaxed fit. In the lookbook, shirt and wide trousers are worn as matching plaid sets in blue-green and red.

The knitwear is where the collaboration gets more specific. The MOHAIR SWEATER places Pendleton's Harding pattern on the sleeves and down the centre of the front and back, made up in mohair. The COWICHAN SWEATER is fully lined, which lets it work as outerwear. The SHAWL COLLAR COAT keeps the heft of a boa coat but is updated with a looser silhouette.

The collection goes on sale on 24 October at NEPENTHES group stores and on the online store. Prices were not given in the announcement. Inquiries go through NEPENTHES in Jingumae, Shibuya (03-3400-7227).