Vintage Summit 7, Part 1: Vintage Summit 7 Part 1: Vintage Summit 7, Part 1: Vintage Summit 7, Part 1: Vintage Summit 7, Part 1: Vintage Summit 7, Part 1: Vintage Summit 7, Part 1
The annual vintage clothing discussion by the best vintage addicts in the industry has finally reached Vol. 7, and this time, Mr. Kazutoshi Yamada, the representative of Berberzine, whom the four regular members respect and admire, has joined us as a special guest. This time, we have a special guest, Mr. Kazutoshi Yamada, the president of Belle Belgin, whom the four regular members respect and admire.
Born in 1977, he started NEXUSⅦ. in 2001 in N.Y. In 2014, he opened a directly-managed store "V.E.L." in Sendagaya, Tokyo, and plans to open a special pop-up store at a certain location in Tokyo in July.
Fujihara Yutaka / Director, BerBerJin
Born in 1977, he is also known as an advisor to the L.A. denim brand YANUK, and in June of last year he launched his own YouTube channel, where he is also active as a YouTuber.
Michihiko Kurihara / Vintage Buyer
Born in 1977, he started his freelance career in 2011. He is one of the most trusted vintage buyers in Japan, not only from vintage clothing stores but also from numerous select stores and brands. Last fall, he opened his own store "Mr. Clean Yokohama" for the first time in his career.
Takashi Abe / staff of beams online store
Born in 1976. He has been involved in men's fashion magazines as an editor and writer, and has handled many articles related to vintage clothing. He is currently in charge of writing for his company's website, and is also known as a world-class collector of vintage bandanas.
SPECIAL GUEST
Kazutoshi Yamada / BerBerJin Owner and Buyer
Owner and buyer of Belverzin, one of the best vintage stores in the world. He has been buying for 20 years and is still a key person in the scene, living back and forth between the U.S. and Japan. He is currently planning to open a new store.
Lecture 1: Kazutoshi Yamada The thicker the pitch of border T's, the more the popularity and market tends to soar."
60's BORDER T-SHIRT
mountain fieldI really don't want to put my personal belongings out in these places.
section (of an orange, etc.)What are you doing here (laughs)?
mountain fieldI've always wanted to attend the Vintage Summit itself, but I didn't want to give away any of the categories I'd recommend or anything.
section (of an orange, etc.)No, no, that's what this project is about (laughs).
mountain fieldThat's right. Well, I did bring a few things to the table.
the recently departed (and buried or cremated, etc.)Are they all T-shirts?
mountain fieldThe first category is border T-shirts, all four of which date back to the 1960s. Jansen" (a long-established knitwear brand founded in 1910 on the West Coast of the United States. (A long-established knitwear brand founded in 1910 on the West Coast of the U.S., the brand was initially focused on swimwear, which is why the tag has a portrait of a woman wearing a bathing suit on it. However, I personally don't like "Jansen's" items because of the long sleeves.
chestnut fieldAt a quick glance, it's hard to believe it's from the 60s. The color scheme looks like something from the 80s or something.
section (of an orange, etc.)How much does it cost in the market?
mountain fieldIf I were to put it in my store, it would be $29,800.
section (of an orange, etc.)Eh. Is it that expensive?
Fujiwara:No, no, I can afford it. I just thought I was talking a little cheap (laughs).
section (of an orange, etc.)Oh yeah, I didn't know that. But still, I have a stronger impression of black for Yamada-san than navy.
the recently departed (and buried or cremated, etc.)What prompted you to collect boarders in the first place?
mountain fieldI don't think I have the sense of collecting. It was simply the right time to have a few pieces in the right size for me.
section (of an orange, etc.)This white and black ultra-thickness is also quite rare, isn't it?
Fujiwara:This would sell immediately even if you offered it for 39,800 yen.
mountain fieldNo, no, if it was $39,800, I wouldn't want to part with it. I would not be willing to part with it if it were $39,800, because you can't get a "Sears" for $39,800.
section (of an orange, etc.)Wow. If you were Kuri, how much would you charge?
chestnut fieldHmmm, I'll take it to "Berberzine".
all of us(Laughter)
chestnut fieldNot only black and white, but vintage wide borders themselves don't come out very often. Even if it does appear, it's only two or three pieces a year.
section (of an orange, etc.)I see. Is there a trend in pitch (border spacing) by age group?
mountain fieldI don't think that's particularly true. However, I do think that the thicker the pitch, the more popular and the higher the market price tends to be.
section (of an orange, etc.)It would not look out of place even if some brand made one with only a single navy line in the center.
mountain fieldI think this was from "Town Craft.
mountain fieldAnd this white and navy medium-thick border also has a woven pattern like stitching on the navy part, which is different from a normal border.
section (of an orange, etc.)So dark tones like navy and black are more popular and marketable.
the recently departed (and buried or cremated, etc.)And the "burn" that is unique to vintage is also appealing. The quality of dyes used in modern products has improved, so it is difficult to get this kind of exquisite burnt effect.
Old Banalipa is still in its infancy. It's very deep."
80's BANANA REPUBLIC T-SHIRT
mountain fieldNext up is a printed T from Banana Republic, made in the '80s.
the recently departed (and buried or cremated, etc.)This is amazing. How many patterns are there?
mountain fieldWe don't have the full picture yet, but it looks like it was released in several seasons.
Fujiwara:I think I saw this color print a lot in the past, but I don't remember much about the black and white one.
mountain fieldNo, I don't think I've ever seen the color either. (Banana Republic was founded by Mel Ziegler in 1978, and the safari style that was popular at the time was one of the brand colors from the beginning.) Banalipa itself had a bit of a boom, right, with the timing of the Shibu-Kaja?
the recently departed (and buried or cremated, etc.)Yes, I know. Like the lizard prints, right?
mountain fieldYes, yes. Actually, the ones I brought today are from the generation before that one. The ones that were popular at that time had the brand name logo printed on the breast pocket, but before that, it was just a symbol.
the recently departed (and buried or cremated, etc.)You mean early 80's?
mountain fieldThe safari series seems to have started in the late 70's, but I think the T-shirts didn't appear until the 80's. I'm not sure how many patterns there are at the moment, but I try to buy them when I find them. I am not sure how many patterns are available at the moment, so I try to buy one when I find one.
section (of an orange, etc.)How much would you put on it if you were to sell it?
mountain fieldHmmm...I guess I could put about $15,000 on it. Well, I won't sell it. It's been about a year since I started collecting them, but I'm still deep into it.
section (of an orange, etc.)What was the impetus?
mountain fieldI had previously released a series of "Alice in Wonderland" T-shirts for the 20th anniversary of "Berberzine," but they now cost several tens of thousands of yen each. It's not that interesting to me (laughs). (laughs) Then I decided to collect a series of T-shirts that no one had dug up yet, and Banalipa was one of them.
section (of an orange, etc.)What made that (Alice series) so expensive?
the recently departed (and buried or cremated, etc.)This series is different, but probably because Disney made a movie on the same subject and made it famous, and because there was nothing else out there with that many variations.
section (of an orange, etc.)I see.
the recently departed (and buried or cremated, etc.)I haven't seen any Humpty Dumpty prints since the 20th anniversary, so I guess there must have been a small number of them to begin with.
mountain fieldIt seems that the top two all-nighters at the "Berberzine" 20th anniversary sale were looking for the Alice series, and it seems that people have been looking for it for a long time. I've been putting out little by little. I didn't expect the price to soar that high.
I was going to dig into this series thoroughly for a while. That's why I didn't want to tell you (laughs)."
90's Lockway 88 SuperNatural Productions T-SHIRT
mountain fieldThe next one was originally sold at a bookstore a while back.Artist series called "Largely LiteraryI released a "Lockway 88 SuperNatural Productions" at "Berberzine," and after that, I started to be interested in this artist's series as well. It is printed with "Lockway 88 SuperNatural Productions" in the handwriting of the artist who drew this illustration, but no matter how many times I searched, I couldn't find any hits.
the recently departed (and buried or cremated, etc.)Is it an artist thing?
mountain fieldIf you read the print carefully, it says "Artist Series" and also has a numbering. I think perhaps the one printed as #1 is Leonardo da Vinci.
mountain fieldI got the first three from one dealer and wanted to know how many numbered pieces there were, so I asked the buyers around me to ask if they could find them, and two more came up later. #2 is Gauguin, #3 is Van Gogh, and #4 is Picasso. I gradually deduced from the motifs that there was not one piece per numbering.
section (of an orange, etc.)And you say?
mountain fieldI'm pretty sure that #1 is da Vinci, but there are already two different #1s with different designs (laughs).
section (of an orange, etc.)This is going to be a difficult process.
the recently departed (and buried or cremated, etc.)You mean there could possibly be three or four patterns, not just two?
mountain fieldSo. In the meantime, I'm thinking of digging into this series thoroughly for a while.
section (of an orange, etc.)Is it OK to write about it?
mountain fieldThat's why I didn't like it (laughs).
all of us(Laughter)
I've already collected over 50 jazz and blues T's."
90's JAZZ & BLUES T-SHIRT
mountain fieldThe last one is a series of Jazz & Blues T's. I think I have already collected more than 50 of these. Gear Inc." was originally an Atlanta company, but they have moved to New Orleans now.
section (of an orange, etc.)How old is it?
mountain fieldThe 90s.
chestnut fieldDo you still make them these days? Because sometimes we see things in recent years that are not made in the U.S.A.
mountain fieldIt looks like some of them are being put out on reprints.
section (of an orange, etc.)It seems that there may be collectors abroad.
mountain fieldBut it's still within reach. That's why I didn't want to tell you this too.
section (of an orange, etc.)I don't imagine Yamada-san wearing this kind of T-shirt.
mountain fieldI'm wearing the white body one. And white is a little rarer.
chestnut fieldI think they were probably sold at record stores and the like, just like rock T's back then, but white bodies themselves were far and few between, and when they did appear, they were all black.
section (of an orange, etc.)You are awfully knowledgeable.
chestnut fieldNo, I am also watching with concern because of Mr. Yamada's request.
section (of an orange, etc.)I see. Is it something that doesn't come up very often?
chestnut fieldEven if they do come out, young dealers who seem to specialize in T-shirts will give you a strong price.
mountain fieldThat's true. Regardless of whether it is music or not, the prices of large prints have generally skyrocketed in recent years.
chestnut fieldThat's right. In addition, when it comes to music, dealers are very aggressive in adding artists that they themselves do not know.
section (of an orange, etc.)Are some artists still looking for it?
mountain fieldI think it's Red Berry (a blues musician active from the 1910s to the '40s), who actually had one but gave it away. I found a picture of Kurt Cobain wearing a Red Berry print T-shirt from this very series. I've never come across it since I gave it away to a younger colleague who was an avid fan of Kurt's. Oh, don't write this down, it will be too expensive.
