#42: Observing the Streets in the 1980s

GRANELLO

The Granello above was purchased in Italy in 1982. At the time, Beams made buying trips about four times a year, visiting the East and West Coasts of America, London, Paris, Milan, and Florence. Barcelona and Antwerp came a little later.
Back then, fashion trend information was gathered by observing the merchandise at street shops and trade shows; I rarely attended collections. I started attending collections around '85 or '86, I think?

Today, merchandising centered around the collection "runway" is crucial, but back then, select shops had no connection to the runway.
My competitors as a buyer were the buyers for department store import sections, with Seibu being particularly avant-garde. Isetan was very traditional. We also competed with Ships, and focused on acquiring information as quickly as possible.

#43: Beautiful Bespoke Pieces I Loved

SILVANO MAZZA & MANOLO BLAHNIK

These suede boots had a beautiful last, so I ordered them at United Arrows, had them custom-made, and wore them often. This was around 1998.

There was also a period when I was keen on animal prints, and these are by Manolo Blahnik. They were from his first collection for men, and were custom-made. This was also around '98 or '99.