Why more people are investing in – and wearing – vintage fashion

Vintage fashion remains in high demand – with people wanting a slice of history as much as reducing the need for additional landfill. And while some valuable designer items can be discovered by chance in the odd secondhand or vintage store, buyers in the know readily pay hefty prices for clothes and accessories designed by Yohji Yamamoto, Comme des Garcons, Junya Watanabe and others.

In Japan, from where this writer has just returned, the mission was in part to discover great archival vintage fashion. There was a one-hour train trip from Osaka to La Grande Leu. Up some dodgy stairs in a grimy warehouse, the showroom opened to racks of Yohji Yamamoto clothes from the 1990s to the early noughties.

Dot Comme at Curtin House, Melbourne, is a treasure trove for vintage fashion.

Other stops included visiting the online business Playful, in Tokyo, where a large team prepares designer goods to ship around the world. And there wouldn’t be many stores as difficult to find as the Archive Store in Shibuya, Tokyo, where the basement showcases museum-quality designer clothing, with prices to match. For those willing to invest in collectable vintage fashion, the prices are impressive.

However, those not prepared to travel to Japan to discover these vintage treasures can pop in to Dot Comme at Curtin House in Swanston Street, Melbourne.

Otto La Rosa, who owns Dot Comme on levels three and four, would have to have one of the most valuable and extensive collections – with many pieces not for sale. The business is loosely divided between the more ready-to-wear pieces and the runway pieces, the latter sometimes not having gone into production and therefore a one-off design.

There’s a bomber jacket with camouflaged-patterned side panels and olive satin sleeves from Comme des Garcons’ Autumn/Winter collection of 2017, selling for $540. If you’re prepared to pay more, there’s a black velvet Yohji Yamamoto jacket with a red leather appliqued rose just above the top pocket.

For those looking for an evening dress, there’s Junya Watanabe’s ‘Superimposed Dress’. This black silk crepe and satin pleated dress ($780) from the Autumn/Winter collection of 2019, is, according to La Rosa, “about a third of what you’d pay for the same dress when it first appeared in a store”.

La Rosa can’t put an exact number on the clothes and accessories in his vast collection, estimating there are approximately 3500 items. One of his earliest acquisitions is a 1970s brown kimono-style coat with an estimated value between $5000 to $10,000, although he’s not prepared to sell it – or a number of others from his stash from Belgium designer Walter Van Beirendonck (La Rosa has at least 500 of his pieces).

One of La Rosa’s most expensive purchases was a bright red men’s suit – fully embroidered with large plastic-like cups – from Van Beirendonck’s summer 1998 collection for $15,000. He sees it design as an ‘icon’ for the future.

For those who want La Rosa to part with some of his treasures, best of luck. “People often see some of these designs on social media, and they know what prices many of these designs achieve,” he adds.

Eastern Market in Brunswick Street, Fitzroy, is one of Melbourne’s most desirable boutiques for artisanal fashion. It started an archive business before COVID-19.

“Our vintage pieces seemed aligned to the direction of fashion where people see fashion design as beyond a look or a fashion trend – something that has longevity,” says Eloise da Silva, the manager and buyer for Eastern Market.

On the racks you’ll find UK designers Paul Harnden and rising star John Alexander Skelton. While some of the vintage coats can sell north of $1000, a simple T-shirt from Rick Owens can be yours for less than $100. “Some of the materials, such as these extremely fine leathers, are difficult to find now,” da Silva says.

The orange leather Yohji Yamamoto jacket from the 1991 Winter collection that sold for $7000.

Sally Hardy, co-owner and head of fine art and fashion at Theodore Bruce Auctioneers & Valuers in Stanmore, Sydney, feels the rush when certain items come up for auction. She singles out an orange leather Yohji Yamamoto jacket from the 1991 Winter collection.

Emblazoned on the back with the words “22nd Century Sweetheart” and a racy-looking mermaid in a Marilyn Monroe pose, the slightly worn jacket was knocked down under the hammer for just under $7000, including buyer’s premium.

“People who buy vintage get hooked. The passion ‘kicks in’, with buyers looking to the past as much as to the future. You can look online – these jackets are now selling for considerably more,” says La Rosa, who is the proud owner of two of the biker-style jackets in mint condition.

“Even $20,000 for each one wouldn’t tempt me to sell.”

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