Hickoree's
Japanese Focus

Started by designers Shinsuke Kojima and Motoki Kawanabe in 2002, Waste(twice) is one of those Japanese brands that fans of rugged workwear and streetwise, urban-minded guys can both agree on. The guys behind Hickoree's Hard Goods recently picked up select pieces from the brand, complementing recent gets from other cult Japanese brands like Colimbo and Kapital. We caught up with co-owner Emil Corsillo about the appeal of Japanese garments ...

FYI

The removable brass heart buttons on the brand's coats are inspired by old Carharrtt buttons from the 1920s.

We've been following them for a few years now. We were first turned on to the brand by our old friend and business partner, Hisashi Oguchi, who lives in Tokyo. Since we started our business, Hisashi has been instrumental in many things related to The Hill-Side (sourcing Japanese fabric, sales relationships with Japanese retailers, etc.). For the past couple of years he has also been developing relationships with some of our favorite Japanese brands, with the hope of slowly convincing them to sell to Hickoree's. He's been wearing Waste(twice) for the past four or five years, and every time he comes to visit us he's got one or two amazing new pieces from them.

Waste(twice) coast worker jacket, $395
and crazy check button-down, $240

We placed a conservative order this spring because we know it can take time for a new brand to be adopted, but what we have represents our favorites from the season. And the striped "Coast Worker" jacket, with its heart-shaped buttons, is definitely a personal favorite. We've also got a great batch of Waste(twice) bags coming soon, which we're all eagerly awaiting.

Phigvel key holder, $59

We've had a "Made in the USA" filter on the site for a long time, which reflects how important domestically produced products are to Hickoree's. US-made goods have always been a focus for us, but Japan is also really important to us because our partner lives there and because a lot of men's clothing and accessories in Japan have a kind of co-dependent relationship with similar American products. They work from the same pool of historical sources and they are constantly informing and inspiring each other. So it felt like a logical addition. But we had to wait until the quantity of Japan-made products was big enough to make it a meaningful section of the site. We've got US and Western Hemisphere exclusives on Waste(twice), Phigvel, Colimbo and Big Yank; as well as brands like Kapital and J.S. Homestead that are rarely found outside of Japan. And we're working on adding a bunch more, too.