Japan, 1964: Hiro Shimizu was racing bikes for the Japanese national team. By chance, at the Asian Championships he got to ride in a special Italian-made nylon jersey – different from the cotton jerseys of his teammates.
Hiro’s father – Kinji – worked in the clothing industry. He became fascinated by this new style of jersey and began to experiment with new designs and materials that could help his son’s performance.
50 years later, Pearl Izumi is the result of Kinji’s obsession with performance fabrics. It’s an international brand, based in Colorado and has numerous innovations to its name, including the first lobster glove and first fluorescent kit designs.
