Keizo Shimizu

A Tokyo buyer turned designer, Keizo Shimizu founded Nepenthes in 1988 as an importer of Americana and outdoor clothing for the Japanese market, opening Nepenthes New York in 1989 to source vintage and craft goods at the source. From this platform he launched South2 West8 in 1996, a fly-fishing and outdoor label rooted in Western American river culture, followed by Needles, his signature label built around track pants, rebuilt vintage and the now-iconic butterfly logo. Through Nepenthes' Tokyo, London and New York stores he has nurtured a wider family of in-house lines including Engineered Garments under Daiki Suzuki, and is widely credited as one of the central figures shaping the contemporary Japanese reading of American workwear and outdoor clothing.