I'm pretty sure I know how this goes.
Needles was too busy partying and forgot to do their homework. The next day they roll over to their mates at Birkenstock (who always do the work) and are like "yo can I copy your homework?". As always Birkenstock is like "yea ok, just change it so it doesn't look obvious" and then Needles comes out with this.
So what's the changes? You've got a familiar shape and taupe suede but these are made in Japan instead of Germany. The footbed is leather lined, not suede and the outsole is a thick EVA with the signature "papillon". The toebox gets another bit of butterfly goodness with a cheeky bit of perforation before being finished-off with a very good-times-appropriate peace sign buckle.
You think the teacher will notice?