The Thrill of the Hunt
Introducing Searcher Vintage
This post is a bit of a detour but bear with me. I’ve been working on something new that isn't related to my music. It’s called Searcher Vintage.
I’ve been passionate about vintage clothing for decades. One of my first real jobs was working at a thrift shop called Divine Decadence in Edmonton. That was such an affirming experience for me, where I met some really interesting characters and was inspired to write my song “The New Face of Fashion” from Afterparty Babies.
You might remember my post about vintage band shirts from a couple years ago:
When I’m on tour and I’m not at the venue or eating somewhere, I’m likely scoping out the local vintage scene, frantically zooming around town from store to store. The shops I appreciate the most are the ones where the curation signals a particular point of view and a clear aesthetic direction. You can feel the personality of the owner coming through in what they share with the public. I always find it thrilling to step into a store that’s perfectly dialled in. Sleeper in LA and Lara Koleji in New York come to mind. You know you’re in good hands. Searcher Vintage is my way of trying to give other people that feeling.
I’ve long been fascinated by the ways that what we wear can say so much about who we are. Your outfit is how you present yourself to the world, the first impression you send out to everyone you encounter. Clothes can tell so much about a person without them even having to say a word. My wife would also tell you about my deep passion for jackets, as I seemingly coming home with a new one every day. A coat in particular lets you be a different person for the day, embodying whatever persona that the garment represents.
I’ve been quietly building up inventory in recent months and I’ve loved every second of it. Picking vintage is so much like digging for records but even more rewarding. The process of sorting through detritus to find something one of a kind is incredibly meditative to me.
Learning the arcane rules of how to authenticate clothing has been exciting too. I’ve become more mindful about natural materials and the provenance of garments. What used to be just a care tag is now a secret code for finding treasure. A few days ago, I observed a rumpled older man in the denim section of a thrift store carrying a tome about vintage jeans as he carefully combed through the racks.
The ecological impacts of fast fashion are important to note as well. The numbers are harrowing: according to Greenpeace, 35% of microplastics in the ocean are from washing synthetic textiles. PIRG states that making a single cotton t-shirt requires more than 700 gallons of water (equivalent to what one person would drink over 2.5 years). The fashion industry is responsible for 10% of global carbon emissions annually. Plus there's the exploitative labour practices used by fast fashion companies like Shein that show the human cost of producing new clothing.
Buying new clothes online just doesn't hit the same either. I always end up disappointed. The items routinely seem to have a shorter shelf life in my closet. They feel less meaningful. On the other hand, the vintage clothes I’ve found on my own feel nicer and are made of superior materials with stronger craftsmanship. As I get better at finding vintage stuff, it allows me to detach myself even further from the chains of mass market commerce. I can see a future where I never buy anything new again.
Searcher Vintage is my vision for a sustainable relationship with clothing. In everything I do, there’s a restless, exploratory element. I’m always hunting for new sounds and ideas. I want this project to represent that impulse as well. There won’t be a focus on high end brands, luxury or streetwear. It isn’t always going to be about the most expensive, most obscure items. But as long as it’s quality or carries something emotionally significant, I’m into it. I want to find clothes that make people look and feel amazing. I want to follow Mickey Drexler’s ethos for GAP when he was CEO in the ‘90s: “the aim should be to offer good-looking merchandise with taste, a point of view and fair pricing relative to value.”
I’ll be doing a popup here in Hamilton early next year but leading up to that, I’ll be posting my most interesting finds online alongside archival fashion photos over at Searcher Vintage. I hope you’ll join me.
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You can find me updating my playlists or hanging on Twitter and Instagram. You can listen to my music on Spotify, Apple Music and Bandcamp and you can get Cadence Weapon merchandise here. Read my monthly column in Hazlitt. Pick up your copy of Bedroom Rapper here and please rate it on Goodreads.
I see a parallel between buying clothes online and downloading albums for free back in the days of Napster and other such services. Regardless of the quality of those albums, I didn't listen to them as often or enjoy them as much as ones I paid money for. Part of that may be the guilt I felt about unfairly getting someone's artistic output without contributing to their material progress. We appreciate more the things we invest in, whether it's time, energy or money.
Good luck with this new project!
I love the idea of vintage clothing, but I wish I had the time to really look for it