One Stylish Stable

Nepenthes New York

If you’re not familiar with Japanese men’s fashion collective Nepenthes, you’re likely to have a good reason. Maybe it’s their unassuming branding, vintage union sewing shop locale with stark white walls, industrial lighting and the former occupant’s logo still in the window, or the fact that this Garment District stealth-spot is a secret very well-guarded by the city’s most stylish, but low-key dandies. Whatever the excuse, it’s time to stop making it, and instead get up to speed with the impeccably-detailed, cutting-edge design and artisan manufacturing that have gained Nepenthes’ stable of brands a global cult following.

The walls are lined with rotating caches of homegrown and international art, plus handmade quilts reminiscent of old-world tapestries by A Bee, while the racks are home to elegant fashion including Daiki Suzuki’s Engineered Garments label, a collection of handsome, classic clothing including tailored pieces, smart Workaday dailywear, jackets and accessories in sumptuous autumn/winter wools and leathers. There’s also Japan-based menswear brand Needles, with luxurious alpaca, Harris tweed, trench and canvas coats plus fur-piped sportswear, the vibrantly-patterned shirting of namesake Nepenthes NY men’s line, South2 West8, Sonic Lab and Russell Moccasin footwear. The moral? Fashion forward gents with a penchant for the beautiful, this is your one-stop outfitting shop. Artisans, unite!