Battenwear is a New York City menswear brand founded in 2012 by Shinya Hasegawa — a Japanese designer who previously worked in Tokyo before relocating to New York, where he established the brand as a dedicated exploration of American outdoor clothing from the mid-20th century: camp shirts, trail shorts, mountain parkas, and pack jackets designed with the same functional intelligence as the originals but refined for contemporary life. The name references “batten” — the wooden strips sewn into fabric to reinforce structure — suggesting something both functional and underlying, hidden but essential.
Key Facts
- Founded: 2012
- Founder/Designer: Shinya Hasegawa
- Headquarters: New York City, USA
- Production: New York City and Japan
- Industry: Outdoor-Inspired Contemporary Menswear
Background and Approach
Hasegawa was born in Japan and developed a deep appreciation for mid-20th-century American outdoor and sportswear culture — the functional garments made for hiking, camping, climbing, and paddling in the decades before synthetic performance fabrics arrived. He moved to New York and launched Battenwear as a vehicle for this obsession, producing clothing that takes original outdoor garments at their word: designed for genuine activity, made in quality materials, and offered without the performance-branding noise of mainstream outdoor labels. The brand’s approach is more in common with Engineered Garments than with The North Face — referential rather than technical, drawing from mid-century catalogues rather than contemporary performance specs.
Products and Aesthetic
Battenwear’s core range includes the Packable Anorak (a lightweight pull-over storm jacket in ripstop nylon), the Reach Up Anorak, trail shorts, camp shirts, fleece jackets, and accessories — all produced in a palette of muted natural tones with occasional stronger colour. Fabrics include Japanese ripstop nylons, cotton-nylon blends, and classic outerwear materials. Production is split between New York City (garment district) and Japanese factories. The brand occupies a specific niche between heritage outdoor and contemporary menswear — stocked at The Bureau Belfast, Inventory Magazine, Standard & Strange, and specialist international stockists.
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