So, What is NEW VINTAGE? Vol.46 Eye brands that you may or may not have seen somewhere before, but "just happen to fit the moment".

What is the New Vintage anyway?

In the 1990s, the term "vintage" was used to describe vintage clothing that did not meet the definition of "antique," but still had value, as opposed to "antique" clothing that was 100 years old. Nowadays, there is a movement to find new value in "new vintage," even in old clothes from the 1980s onward, which used to be called "regular" vintage clothes. In this project, four vintage clothing stores with different styles propose new ways to enjoy vintage clothing. Each of them will talk about the charm of vintage clothing with their own sense of style.

This Series has entered its 6th season. So, the 46th issue is the second round of Makiji & Koike's "Kiraku.

Text_Tommy
Edit_Yosuke Ishii

Makiji & Koike / Owners, Kiraku
Vol.46_i-brand T-shirts & caps

-Now, what is the new vintage item you are going to introduce this time?

Makihi (god of fishing)I'm going to introduce mainly T-shirts this time as well as last time, and the ...... theme is this one.

-What is this logo! Is it the "I (eye)" ......?

small pondThe answer is correct! There is a TV network company in the U.S. called "ion Television," and this item seems to have been made by their sports division. Let's start with the T-shirts.

-Oh, you mean the independents (local channels and cable channels) other than the four major networks. I hear there are a huge number of channels in those places.

Makihi (god of fishing)Looks like:. It was founded in the late 90s. There are quite a few channels other than sports, such as beauty, campus, family, health, etc., and apparently they still exist. I checked Wikipedia and found that it is only available in English, and I could only find a few videos from about 10 years ago on YouTube. I also found a few videos on YouTube from about 10 years ago, and the content of some of them focused on local events, so I thought that they were not that famous.

-From what I see here, it looks like there was a pretty wide range of genres in sports.

small pondYes, that's right. As you can see from the T-shirt I mentioned earlier, there is a wide range of programs such as run (marathon), swim (swimming), golf (golf), and so on. This "hike" is probably an outdoor program centered on mountain climbing. It has already sold out, but some of them are kick.

Makihi (god of fishing)I said, "I don't know, but it's soccer, isn't it?" (laughs). (Laughs.) Of all the things we collected, the run was by far the most common. There was also fishing.

Eye brand T-shirts ¥8,000 each(All in Kiraku)

-But what was the T-shirt for?

Makihi (god of fishing)I think they were probably uniforms for the program staff and merchandises for event sales, but if you look closely, you can see the trademark "I BRAND" on some of the items, so I think they were also developing a brand.

Eye brand T-shirts ¥8,000(Kiraku)

small pondThe basic design is the "I" logo combined with the name of each sport, but the design varies slightly from year to year. The most recent version is this two-tone, slanted round shape. Until then, the oval shape seemed to be the norm.

Eye brand T-shirts ¥8,000(Kiraku)

-Any items other than T-shirts?

small pondThere were also sweatshirts, but most of the T-shirts we saw were T-shirts. Moreover, the body makers were all different. The basic body was white, but there were also colored and tie-dyed T-shirts, and I think the actual situation was that they were made using whatever body was available.

Makihi (god of fishing)Run is the standard, but ride could be ...... bicycle or motorsports. It is very popular in the US. However, I am not sure if it is long jump, high jump, or high dive...what kind of sport it refers to is a mystery to me (laughs).

Eye brand caps ¥6,800 each(All in Kiraku)

-Yes, that's true (laughs). However, the designs all have a 90's feel to them, and the atmosphere is somehow nice.

Makihi (god of fishing)That's the point!　It's a straightforward graphic design with the name of the sport in the logo, and it's almost like a corporate product in the sense of feeling. It's a simple graphic that is not thought out, but it just happens to turn out well and look cool to us Japanese.

-I think the rate of people asking, "Where is it from? is also likely to be asked at a high rate.

small pondI don't think anyone has ever heard of "i-brand. At first, I thought that all the logos were different because I found so many different logos, and we didn't even know they existed until we bought them this time. (Laughs) However, I think it is easy to incorporate.

Makihi (god of fishing)I thought that nowadays, it would be fine to wear it with shorts. This design can be worn in any era. The problem is that even if readers try to find it on the Internet, they may find it at a completely different company, and they may not be able to find it at all (laugh). So, instead of going out of your way to look for it, if you happen to see it at a thrift store, just pick it up and say, "What's this? I think it's better to just pick it up and say, "What's this? Enjoying such chance encounters is part of the charm of vintage clothing, and as I said before, I think new vintage is something you can "enjoy in your own way in a relaxed way.

Makiji & Koike / Owners, Kiraku
Two friends who have been friends for over a decade opened Kiraku in Okinawa Town in Daitabashi, Tokyo, in November 2017. It offers a variety of American casual and other lineups from regular to vintage, and is open from 5:00 pm to 24:00 pm. The second store, "Raku Raku," is also open in Shimokitazawa.
Official site:kiraku-store.com
Instagram:@kiraku_store