THE DILIGENT RESEARCH: INTERVIEW WITH ALEX MAXAMENKO
Alex Maxamenko sells incredibly rare and interesting clothes from our favorite brands. The pieces on his Grailed page are full of nostalgia; they literally absorbed the original approach of designers and the cultural cross-section of past. What made 90's Bape so special? What were the early pieces of Number(N)ine and Undercover? Alex gives detailed answers to this, carefully research each item and its history.
Why he does this — read in our interview.
Why he does this — read in our interview.
THE DILIGENT RESEARCH: INTERVIEW WITH ALEX MAXAMENKO
Alex Maxamenko sells incredibly rare and interesting clothes from our favorite brands. The pieces on his Grailed page are full of nostalgia; they literally absorbed the original approach of designers and the cultural cross-section of past. What made 90's Bape so special? What were the early pieces of Number(N)ine and Undercover? Alex gives detailed answers to this, carefully research each item and its history.
Why he does this — read in our interview.
Why he does this — read in our interview.
How's your passion for archive clothing started? How were you hooked on it? Maybe it was some "triggered" garments or its details?
I'm not sure if the word "archive" in itself really sums up what I do or what I'm interested in. I started developing an interest in clothes when I got into skateboarding in the 8th grade. Seeing people at my local with baggy jeans, fitted hats, chunky sneakers with the tongue popped… that definitely did something for me and as someone who was insecure about their appearance, clothing made it easy for me to carry myself with more pride. As I went further down the rabbit hole, I found myself really interested in streetwear and progressed from there to what my taste has become.
An iconic Spring Summer 2006 Number (N)ine x Jam Home Made "Welcome to The Shadows" triple skull necklace. Debatably Takahiro Miyashita's most renowned collection at Number (N)ine, the Spring Summer 2006 collection drew heavy inspiration from Axl Rose, the lead vocalist of Guns and Roses. This necklace is a pristine example of Miyashita's work at the helm of Number (N)ine. Coming in an intentionally unpolished and rugged black painted steel, this necklace features three intricate skulls, two of which have moving bottom jaws. Resting on a 31 inch chain, this necklace truly encapsulates the grungy feeling that Takahiro Miyashita melded into each of his pieces from his time at Number (N)ine. In fantastic overall condition, here is the opportunity to purchase a highly sought after Spring Summer 2006 Number (N)ine "Welcome to The Shadows" triple skull necklace for a fantastic price.
You are always doing really detailed descriptions of each garment. How do you find the information about the pieces?
I do diligent research on all the pieces I post because I feel clothes should tell stories rather than just be objective. A lot of pieces have history behind them and to justify the price, I think it's necessary for a good description to be included. People want to talk about what they own and being able to share this information with their friends or enthusiasts alike after purchasing is just second nature for most of us.
Is a gorgeous pair of Autumn Winter 2006 Junya Watanabe bondage pants. Coming in a timeless military green colour-way, these pants have a high waisted fit with a detachable grommet belt that swoops across the legs. Fitting a 28 inch waist these cropped bottoms are in pristine overall condition with no flaws whatsoever.
You pay special attention to the clothing from the old Harajuki scene. Some Bape stuff, Undercover, Number Nine and so on. Why do you appreciate them? Do you feel something special about old clothing from the Harajuku scene?
There's so much talent out of the Harajuku scene it's pretty hard to ignore. There's something special about the early 2000's for me and a lot of the pieces on my page are nostalgic. I grew up a massive fan of Kanye's music and Pharrell's production, so it's only fair I got heavily invested in their style as they shaped streetwear together. Music and fashion really go hand-in-hand. I still enjoy the thrill of hunting pieces from specific music videos or iconic moments that my younger pre-teen self was obsessed with.
Do you get some inspiration from what you do? In these garments, its background and details...
I don't personally have an interest in designing, so I can't say I pull inspiration from the garments myself, but in terms of watching collections or checking out lookbooks, I often reference them for my work as a personal stylist. It's a lot easier to create a moodboard or showcase a concept using tools like this than to just freestyle your concepts.
A Spring Summer 2002 Junya Watanabe thrashed denim jacket. Not to be mistaken with the Spring Summer 2002 Junya Watanabe Man "Poem" collection, the severely overlooked womenswear collection from the same season was truly a testament to Watanabe's versatility as a designer.
Nowadays many brands that you (and we) like produced clothing that looks sooooo diff from their archives. Current Bape isn't 2000s Bape. Current Number Nine isn't 2000s Number Nine. Etc. So, are their old pieces better than new ones? I mean quality, details, design and background. Or are they just different? What do you think?
I think it all depends on the brand, there are clear examples of horrendous declines and also examples of labels making a massive resurgence. It's not really fair to make a blanket statement and say that the early 2000's did things better. To name an example of this Bottega Veneta has made a massive resurgence and has drastically improved all around the board. On the other hand, Helmut Lang's current work is the epitome of what Lang's namesake brand was against. The current products are either worse quality re-editions or look like a loud maximally branded copy paste start-up streetwear company.
Two 1996 Bape reversible souvenir jackets. The Sukajan, or otherwise called a souvenir jacket, dates as far back as the 1940's, when US soldiers occupied Japan. Despite their presence lasting only seven years, the cultural shift and Westernization of Japanese clothing became imminent.
Can you highlight brands which current clothing "still rocks" for you?
There's a lot of brands still putting out great collections season after season. To touch specifically on labels that I consistently post, I think Bape has done a terrific job in the last year or two. Creating the new Bape Sk8 Stas and the Court Stas was a fantastic way of capitalizing on the dunk/jordan sneaker fad. It also connects super well with their roots, ripping off the Nike Air Force 1 silhouette with the Bape Sta. To name a few others, Undercover has made an incredible resurgence from 2016-present in my opinion, possibly some of Jun Takahashi's best work to date. Neighborhood has also put out some noteworthy collections that are underappreciated.
Do you have a personal collection of some rare and unique stuff? If yes, can you tell me about it? It will be cool If you tell the stories about a few of them.
I actually don't have a personal collection, I find it a lot easier and more efficient having a rotating wardrobe. I own a few basic t-shirts and one or two pairs of jeans, but aside from bare essentials I have no pieces to call my own. It's hard not to grow attached to certain garments, but if you want to turnover your stock, you have to have a little less of a heart. There's definitely things I've loved and regretfully sold, but that's the way it goes.
