A series of thick, stitched trails run across the ordinary suede of a New Balance sneaker like wandering footprints on a map, tracing and veering away from the shoe’s original contours. Beneath them, scattered across the shoe’s surface, is a web of indigo-dyed patches. The design is unpolished yet artful and distinctly joyful, turning the iconic shoe into something truly original.
This is a classic Sashiko Gals design. The collective specializes in the traditional Japanese needlework technique of sashiko, which uses bold running stitches for reparative and decorative purposes. The women of the collective offer a bespoke customization service: For prices starting at around $1,600 USD, they will painstakingly embroider a pair of sneakers, provided by the customer — a process that takes an experienced artisan about 30 hours of work. The design is left to the gals’ discretion, and the service is currently so popular that prospective clients have to apply via a lottery system.
The collective is perhaps best known for its highly coveted limited-release collaborations with legendary brands: Veja, Maison Margiela and Isetan Men’s, to name a few. Given Sashiko Gals’ fashion bonafides and cult following, one might expect its members to be insiders or formally trained designers — but in fact, it’s a group of 15 women between their 40s and 80s based in Otsuchi, a sleepy seaside town in Iwate Prefecture.
The first iteration of the project that would eventually become Sashiko Gals began in 2011, the year of the Great East Japan Earthquake. Its initial members had lost their homes and jobs in the ensuing devastation, and several were living in evacuation centers. For them, sashiko was a means of recovery: stitching a future while honoring the past.
The Sashiko Gals and Arata Fujiwara
A Community in Tatters
As one of the areas that suffered extensive damage following the earthquake and tsunami, Otsuchi underwent a long period of reconstruction. Sashiko Gals’ original name was the Otsuchi Recovery Sashiko Project, brought to life by women who were unable to help with rebuilding efforts that involved heavy lifting. Wanting to do something productive to fill their days, they began stitching.
Keeping busy with sashiko became their lifeline. “At the time of the disaster, it may have been a way to create a sense of purpose in life,” Arata Fujiwara, a longtime collaborator and the current business manager of the project, told Tokyo Weekender. “When they were facing many hardships, focusing on a hands-on craft every day allowed them — if only temporarily — to put everything else aside.”
Tokyo-based media outlet Houyhnhnm recently produced a short documentary on the Sashiko Gals members, in which they all recount their stories. In it, Mieko Osawa, 74, recalls the shock and devastation of March 11. Though she and her husband were able to flee safely, they returned to a home in ruins. “The place was completely covered in mud. It was unrecognizable. All of our framed family photos, our photo albums, were soaked. Pictures from weddings, my grandchild’s shichi-go-san ceremony (a childhood rite-of-passage) — all ruined.”
When Osawa joined the sashiko community in December of the same year, she was immediately hooked by the craft’s meditative capacity. “When I was stitching, I didn’t have to think about anything else, or worry about the future,” she reflects. “I could just focus on the needle and thread.” Fellow “Sashiko Gal” Tomiko Goto, 77, echoes the sentiment: “Sashiko embroidery has been my greatest source of mental and emotional support. It saved me. I think everyone who loves sashiko feels the same way.”
The Spirit of Girlhood
Widely believed to have originated in Japan between 200 and 500 years ago, sashiko has been a symbol of strength, resourcefulness and sustainability for centuries. The needlework technique was created to mend and preserve items made of cotton, which was a precious commodity at the time. But rather than being purely utilitarian, the traditional art enhances while repairing — turning worn-out garments into a canvas and breathing new life into them.
While the Sashiko Gals’ creations have now amassed a global fanbase, the group’s journey was not without difficulties. Membership decreased over the years due to people moving away from the town, and the pandemic caused many in-person sales opportunities at department stores and commissions from various companies to be canceled. Wanting to keep the project alive, the women approached Fujiwara, founder of a craft-first Japanese label called Kuon. Sashiko Gals, as it exists today, was formally launched in March 2024.
It was Fujiwara who coined the project’s iconic name. “In Japan, the word ‘gal’ (gyaru) is often used to describe energetic young women,” he explains. “The members are women in their 40s to 80s, but when they get together, they look just like high school students enjoying a chat after school in a classroom or family restaurant.”
In the documentary, when she’s asked how she feels about the moniker, the 77-year-old Goto laughs. “I wasn’t sure about the name at first. But then I thought, we were all gyaru back in the day! We may not look like gals anymore, but we can still call ourselves that if the spirit of girlhood remains in us.” She now wears the title with pride.
From Otsuchi to the World
With the support of Moonshot Inc., the company behind Kuon, and the power of social media, the gals have reached an audience beyond their wildest dreams. Their designs often go viral online, catching the attention of fashion enthusiasts and insiders around the world. (“On Instagram, I see lots of stylish foreign people wearing our shoes,” Osawa gushes in the doc. “I’m amazed when I tap ‘See Translation’ and read all the comments of people saying they love our pieces.”)
The collective ultimately hopes to achieve something more enduring than fashion world success: The members’ aim is to inspire a love of sashiko in the next generation. “Many heritage crafts in Japan are disappearing due to a lack of successors,” Fujiwara says. “We hope the younger generation will understand the value of these traditions and carry them on.”
Once born out of necessity — for routine, refuge and community — Sashiko Gals has evolved into a beacon of love and creativity. For many of its members, sashiko has ignited a passion for art and design they never knew existed within them. As Goto puts it: “I never really thought of myself as creative, but I love coming up with ideas and designing things now. It makes me want to experiment with wearing new styles myself. Daisuki — I love it so much!”
More Information
Sashiko Gals’ custom pieces are available for order on a limited basis. Follow the collective on Instagram @sashiko_gals for regular updates.
Check out the Sashiko Gals documentary short on Houyhnhnm’s Youtube channel.
