Vintage Clothing Prep School Lecture 2: Converse, the world's best-selling sneaker, with a history spanning more than 100 years since its birth.
Lecturer: Michihiko Kurihara

古着予備校 第二講:誕生から100余年の歴史を刻む世界で最も売れたスニーカー、コンバース。 講師:栗原道彦 古着予備校 第二講:誕生から100余年の歴史を刻む世界で最も売れたスニーカー、コンバース。 講師:栗原道彦

Photo:Takeshi Kimura

Text:Takehiro Hakusui

Edit:Yosuke Ishii

FASHIONREGULAR古着予備校

Long before today's vintage clothing boom, when the timelines and various changes in specifications in every category had yet to be fully understood, vintage clothing specialists have been focusing on the lifestyles and casual garments of the past and uncovering many historical facts by analyzing them from various angles. The "Vintage Clothing Prep School" invites experts in various categories such as denim, military, athletic, and outdoor to serve as lecturers and focuses on archives that have left their mark on history and the background and appeal associated with them. In the second session, Michihiko Kurihara, owner of "Mister Clean," talks about Converse sneakers.

Lecturer

Michihiko Kurihara

Mr. Clean Representative

Born in 1977, he built his career at the famous Lost Hills store in Harajuku, and began working as a freelance buyer in 2011. He spends about half the year buying in the US, and is a world-renowned vintage buyer who has earned the trust of many with his industry-leading aesthetic sense and overwhelming knowledge of both new and old items. His personal collection is not limited to Converse, but also includes a wide range of items such as outdoor and military wear. He also has his own shop, Mr. Clean, in Oku-Shibuya.

Instagram: @michihikokurihara

Some American-made versions existed until at least 2001.

Houyhnhnm
Houyhnhnm

During the first vintage boom in the 90s, shoes made before the 70s that had heel patches other than the All Star designation, such as Converse Chuck Taylors and Coach shoes, were considered vintage. But when did American-made All Stars in general start to be considered vintage?

Kurihara
Kurihara

When I went to America for the first time to buy in 1996, most of the in-line models were still made in America, and even the so-called "silver boxes" from the 80s to early 90s were sold cheaply, except for some models with different materials or patterns such as camouflage. When the current models were still made in America and new ones were sold for several thousand yen, no one went out of their way to buy used ones at thrift stores. Later, when American-made ones disappeared, they were put up for clearance sales at mass retailers in Japan. People with foresight bought them up at that time, and later sold them when they became rare as dead stock and became expensive. I think that from around the end of the 2000s, when it became difficult to find American-made ones even used, they gradually started to be treated as vintage.

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