As we have grown our following through the years, we have had the privilege of building relationships with some of the biggest Visvim collectors in the world. Some have either consigned with or sold us extraordinary Visvim items. Here, we review 5 of the rarest items on our website!
SS11 Social Sculpture Coverall (Damaged) (VS0001636)
The Spring/Summer 2011 Collection is one of my favorite seasons producing items such as the Wabanaki Blanket Boots, Blackfire Jacket, and the famed Hopiland Blanket Blazer. The season took inspiration from a vintage 19th-century Navajo blanket woven using naturally dyed, hand-spun wool. It developed a beautiful luster, uneven texture, and incredible color variation throughout its nearly two-century lifetime. Hiroki wanted to recreate the charm of this blanket across his Spring/Summer 2011 Collection by blending a modern 21st-century perspective with the Navajo culture.
The coverall jacket is constructed using Visvim's custom 8oz social sculpture denim fabric woven on vintage shuttle looms using rope-dyed yarns of varying slub lengths, allowing for an uneven surface texture. The jacket is finished with damage processing to create an authentic vintage character throughout. To complement the vintage charm and stay true to the seasons' inspiration, visvim sourced a vintage early 1900s Navajo-inspired cotton blanket from Beacon for the lining.
Beacon was once the world's largest blanket manufacturer which produced blankets for four generations. The company was founded in 1904 by Charles D. Owen. Production began in 1905 with wool fibers woven using Jacquard looms from France and often featured Native-American-inspired prints. In 1924, the company switched to cotton-based fabrics as it was as soft and warm as wool, but less expensive and easier to clean.
I've only seen a couple of these offered on the market before. It was offered in two colorways including Indigo/Lt. Indigo with each featuring its own blanket lining. With the average size of the blankets (around 35 square feet), likely, they were only able to produce one size run of these in each color totaling only 10 pieces made worldwide!
The utility satchel was first introduced in 2020 as part of their experimental sublabel known as Indigo Camping Trailer and quickly became a cult classic in the Visvim community. The utility satchel is a canvas bag with a top zip closure featuring one large interior pocket, and a leather cover attachment made from a natural, unprocessed German deerskin flap that expresses the delicate irregularities of the hide.
Typically offered in sizes ranging from small to large, this one is a gifted unreleased extra large size from Hiroki's archive. Not only does each bag offer a one-off character due to the unique nature of the leather, but this one being a 1-of-1 sample truly expresses its rarity.
FW18 ICT Iris Liner Vest (0218905013021)
This reversible military liner vest was made from a Katazome stencil-dyed silk-hemp blend fabric. Katazome, or stencil dyeing, is a technique that involves placing a stencil on the fabric and applying colored paste with a tracing spatula. The fabric is then steamed to bond the paste, creating colored patterns. Katazurizome is a specialized form of textile printing where dye is rubbed into the fabric through a stencil using brushes, requiring high skill levels only found in experienced craftsmen.
The stencils, called Ise-katagami, are handmade from Japanese paper and persimmon tannin, crafted by experienced artisans.
The round brushes, made from deer hair, come in various sizes and hair lengths to accommodate different patterns. Craftsmen adjust their techniques based on brush length and pattern precision, using their expertise to create different shades and effects. This traditional skill has been passed down through generations, allowing for varied and intricate textile designs.
The vest was only released once at a F.I.L. Indigo Camping Trailer pop-up store event "The Traveling Trading Post" at BANK GALLERY in Shibuya, Tokyo. The event featured Indigo Camping Trailer products, as well as vintage fabrics and accessories procured by Hiroki Nakamura himself. Due to the limited supply, the items were subject to a ticket lottery draw before the event.
SS20 Sanjuro Kimono IT Dazzler (Fr Veg. L) (0120105014005)
This is one of the rarest pieces from Visvim's "Made in Italy" offerings. Constructed from a French vegetable-tanned lambskin, the Dazzler retails at nearly USD 13,000. The jacket offers a wild combination of Japanese and Native American influences, featuring a kimono-inspired jacket constructed from zig-zag panels of varying colors hand-sewn together using a small-scale whipstitch.
Leather manufacturers have historically added paneling through leather jackets especially at the rear yoke, back panel, and sleeve as those areas are where you find your largest continuous, un-broken sections. This jacket uses long continuous zig-zag strips that can only be cut from the center of the hide. With an animal such as a lamb that has an average hide size of 6-8 square feet, there are a large number of hides being used to make each jacket. It's estimated that it would take 1 hide of each color shown to produce only around 3-4 jackets.
Because of the raw material waste conducive to making an item like this, cut-and-sew fees, and small production factory surcharges, these were pre-order exclusive, likely totaling less than 10 jackets made.
FW14 ICT Kerchief Down JKT (0214905013014)
This was part of the second generation of Kerchief Down Jackets released under Visvim's experimental Indigo Camping Trailer sublabel. It was released alongside other vibrant and pastel hues including Red, Burgundy, Orange, Yellow, Pink, Lt. Pink, and Purple. This one is the light purple colorway and has never been rereleased hereafter.
The Kerchief is a western-style shirt jacket constructed using a patchwork design of vintage US-made Colorfast cotton bandanas hand-sewn together. Once constructed, the jacket was soaked and dyed in iron-rich mud from local Amami-Oshima rice paddies in Japan, resulting in an authentic character and worn-in charm synonymous with vintage garments.
Because of the unique nature of the jacket and the limited supply of purple-colored vintage US colorfast bandanas, the rarity of this jacket cannot be overstated. It's estimated they only made one per size for this one!