Rintaro Tanaka | "INSPIRATION," An Evolution of "My Freedamn!" Event, Is Held! (Part 1)

A place where vintage fans from around the world can gather to buy and sell items and information.—

INSPIRATION: An Event Evolving from My Freedamn! (Part 1)

When we interviewed Rintaro Tanaka upon the completion of "My Freedamn! Vol. 8" in June 2009, he mentioned, "From now on, I want to expand the worldview of "My Freedamn!" beyond just books." It seems that for him, dreams exist to be realized. In February 2010, he will hold an event in Santa Monica, Los Angeles, that evolves from "My Freedamn!". Openers immediately conducted an interview with Mr. Tanaka, who returned to Japan to promote the event. We asked him about its purpose, his strong commitment to the event, and the special book to be published alongside it.

Interview by Toranosuke Takeuchi (City Lights)Photos by Rintaro Tanaka

Creating a Venue for Vintage Enthusiasts Worldwide

— In our last interview, you mentioned wanting to hold an event that would further expand the world of "My Freedamn!". It seems this will be realized as early as this February.

Yes. We're launching it on February 12th and 13th, at a scale of 2,000 people right from the start. The venue is Barker Hangar at Santa Monica Airport in Los Angeles. It was built in 1954 and originally served as a hangar for the Douglas DC-3 transport aircraft, which was based here.

— That's incredible. It sounds like a perfect fit for the concept. How did you manage to secure such a venue?

It's not a place they normally rent out, but they agreed when I explained that we were organizing a global vintage event.

— I see. So your passion clearly resonated. Could you please tell us more about the event's overview?

This event is titled "INSPIRATION," and it will bring together vintage wear enthusiasts from around the world, primarily from the United States. We've prepared various exhibition booths, and we aim to fill Barker Hangar with vintage items. There will be three special exhibition booths, 31 vintage clothing booths, 3 fashion archive booths, 13 fashion brand booths, 8 culture recycling booths, 10 artist booths, and 5 participants for a charity garage sale.

— So, it's not just an exhibition; people can actually buy and sell items here?

Barker Hangar at Santa Monica Airport

Yes, that's the intention. However, we want it to be more than just a swap meet. That's one of the main reasons we decided to hold this event. After six years of working on "My Freedamn!", I realized it's time to distinguish between swap meets and vintage culture. It doesn't make sense to see $2,000 items at a swap meet. On the other hand, the passion for vintage has spread globally. While it started in the Japanese market, now Europeans and Americans are increasingly willing to spend money. So, I thought it was time to create a place where vintage fans from around the world can gather to buy and sell items and information.

— So, you're expecting about 2,000 such people, mainly from the United States?

There might be more, but if it gets any larger, issues like security would arise, and it wouldn't be as enjoyable. Especially since this is the first time, we wanted it to be an event for people who truly understand vintage, primarily those who have supported "My Freedamn!", to enjoy.

Accompanying Special Book: "King of Vintage" Published Annually

— You've also created a new book to coincide with the event, haven't you?

For this event, we will establish a main booth each year titled "King of Vintage," and publish a special book featuring the items of that person or group. This book will be a separate series from "My Freedamn!", intended exclusively for the event. For this inaugural event, we are featuring Larry McCahan and his Seattle-based vintage shop "Hell's Kitchen" as the "King of Vintage" and have produced a book showcasing approximately 300 of their items. The print run is limited to 3,000 copies. 1,000 of these will be available for pre-sale in Japan starting December 24, 2009. The remaining 2,000 copies will be sold at the event itself.
For this special first-time endeavor, Larry put in a great deal of effort and provided many items that have rarely been seen before. I myself was able to see valuable denim and workwear that I hadn't focused on much in "My Freedamn!", which was a valuable learning experience for me as well.