Rin Tanaka’s world famous vintage showcase Inspiration made it’s way to Brooklyn last weekend. After six iterations in Los Angeles, the plan is to double down and run LA’s show every February and New York’s every October.
The very first New York event was held at the Brooklyn Expo Center in Greenpoint last Friday and Saturday. The number of exhibitors was down from LA, 84 compared to 125 at the last show, but many of those absent from the regular bunch were understandably from Japan.
Most of the new “vintage-inspired” brands were holdovers from the previous shows: PF Flyers, Freenote Cloth, Himel Bros., Ladywhite Co., but there were also some East Coast added to the mix like Knickerbocker MFG., Vanson Leathers, and Left Field.
Vintage denim guru Brit Eaton was in from Colorado with loads and loads of rare pieces, but the majority of the other vintage dealers were locals–much more workwear, much less western and surfwear than LA. Photographer Eric Kvatek had basically a garage sale of a booth, filled with many of his props and items from past Kapital shoots.
While it hasn’t yet reached the dusty bustle of indigo that is the LA show, Inspiration drew decent crowds for the initial opening. Here’s hoping that vintage Christmas continues to come twice a year and on both coasts.
