We will hold a pop-up curated by “Den,” a space within Descendant Tokyo located in Harajuku, Tokyo. For the first event, with support from Good Valley Market, a warehouse that collects vintage U.S. clothing, we selected and exhibited about 130 used T-shirts recently acquired in May, chosen according to Den’s curation. Through this event, we hope to explore the meaning of vintage clothes.

This is our first time selecting and selling vintage items.

Selecting from a mountain of T-shirts, each once created by someone, sold somewhere, and integrated into someone’s life, and then releasing them back into the world with a new perspective and value feels like a fresh experience, even for someone like me who has been running a brand. I tried to mimic what vintage shops usually do, but because I’ve been designing clothes myself, I was able to see things in a different light.

Although both brand-made clothing and vintage pieces are fundamentally the same “clothes,” the approach is completely different. In the case of vintage T-shirts, each one differs in fabric thickness, stitching, color, silhouette, print technique, and graphics, meaning the deeper the variety, the more interesting it becomes. On the other hand, with brand-made clothing, elements like the designer’s personality, seasonal concepts, key silhouettes, and artworks define the brand identity. Therefore, the impression and the motivation to pick up the item are completely different.

As I flipped through the pile of old T-shirts one by one, I found myself relying on everything I had seen and experienced up until now. I chose the pieces with the perspective of: “I may lack formal education, but I’ve lived and breathed the culture I love, and I’ve built up an eye for it. That, at least, is something I own.”

The ”used” point of vintage items is that they’ve gone through time, they’ve already debuted once before. Most of the T-shirts I picked are ones I wouldn’t have noticed when they were brand-new. But based on the experiences I’ve accumulated as a selector, I established themes for my selections. Even items that had no relation to my past self were assigned roles within a story. As I explored artworks from all kinds of eras, I began to feel like I was traveling through time, which led me to select some pieces with the thought, “I’ll bring this home as a souvenir for a friend or family member.”

This selection presents a different perspective on the value of vintage T-shirts. This time, it’s all about T-shirts, but what’s interesting about vintage is how something becomes a unique and meaningful piece once you find your own connection to it. Rather than choosing based on someone else’s value, it becomes more enjoyable when you have your own lens to evaluate with.

This pop-up will take place in “DEN,” a space tucked inside Descendant Tokyo. DEN functions like a gallery that collects and showcases “what exists now” from a unique perspective. It’s a curatorial space and a hub for activity. This will be DEN’s debut event. With the cooperation of Hiroshi Okubo, one of the directors of PTC VINTAGE CLOTHING WHOLESALE, a U.S.-based warehouse that collects vintage clothing and was featured in a vintage clothing special in POPEYE magazine, about 130 carefully selected used T-shirts, chosen through DEN’s curation from a recent shipment, will be exhibited and sold (there are also about 15 caps). On the day of the event, Okubo will be present, serving as a curator-like figure for DEN. Incidentally, Okubo was formerly the store manager of the select shop Blackflag, which used to be located in Minami Aoyama.

Schedule：August 9 (Sat), 10 (Sun), and 11 (Mon), 1:00 pm - 7:00 pm
Space：Descendant Tokyo “DEN”
Address：6-6-11 Jingumae, Villa Hase 1F, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo

Hiroshi Okubo from Good Valley Market will be there in person. Please come by and chat with him.