After the Odakyu Line had moved to the underground, the major redevelopment along the line has been causing various changes to Shimokitazawa town in Tokyo. Shimokitazawa Ichiban Shotengai, one of six shopping districts in the town, recently receives more attention because new innovative stores have sprung up in the area while traditional stores continue to operate business in the same place. A concept store, VELVET, is the newcomer of the district as it was opened on August 1 2015. The owner of the store, Tomoki Takso, is an ex editor who had worked for a male fashion magazine for about ten years. When opened the store, however, he had absolutely no experience as a buyer or a sales assistant of an apparel store. “But I’ve been a big fan of vintage clothes for years and had some experiences of selecting clothes for magazine articles an editor. So, I didn’t have any qualms about opening my store. Well, I know it’s a kind of overestimation, though (laughs).” It may sound a bit arrogant, but you’ll find out that he wasn’t a guy with a big mouth soon after looking around the inside of the store. Each piece of carefully selected clothes and products possesses a robust individuality while Takaso’s aesthetics pulls all those items together at the same time. “I don’t care about trends and rarity. All the clothes here are selected because I think those are cool and sexy. I would carry female clothes if I think it fits in with male fashion. Though most of the clothes in my store are vintage, secondhand ones, I’m also willing to carry new clothes from current brands.” From 2017, some products of Rebuild by Needles will be added to his choice of “cool and sexy” clothes. “The brand’s approach to vintage clothes is different from mine, but I genuinely feel empathy for its concept; generating brand-new value by recreating secondhand clothes.”