Vintage Talks with Denzel Robinson
“I am Denzel Robinson and I manage the store Metropolis Vintage, a vintage shop that sells clothing from decades dating back from the 1990s to the 1940s. I specialize in dating and sourcing vintage T-shirt from concerts. I also am an avid collector myself and spend a lot of time sourcing these pieces that gets harder to find as the years go by.”
Being a New York City native has its fair share of many challenges but it is also what most people call the best city in the world. Tell us what it was like for you growing up in New York City?
I was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York, especially Flatbush. Flatbush is like a melting pot of all African descent nationalities so I grew up with many west Indies and west Africans. Throughout 2 years of my early childhood, I lived in a small town in New Jersey where there was absolutely nothing to do, so my mom and I would always go to Brooklyn on weekends to hang out with family and friends. When I was around 8 years old, I joined the boys and girls club where I learned skills that I still use today like photoshop. I would say that when I develop an interest in graphic designing and overall appreciation for art.
Who did the younger version of yourself look up to?
I didn’t really start looking up to anyone until I was about 16 years old. I first started paying attention to Kanye West and what he was doing at Adidas with the Yeezy line. He also began dressing a way I’ve never seen before, making the normal everyday essentials like a sweatshirt or a t-shirt look designer, which some were, but the normal eye, look old dirty and used. I liked that, and started imitating the look with cheaper alternatives. He was also very vocal during this time that I was able to relate to, whether it be through his style, music, and/or interviews. He expressed himself a way in that I was able to look up to as a role model. He also helped provide a platform for other black creatives such as Virgil Abloh, Jerry Lorenzo, and Heron Preston who I looked up to.
Wearing Stussy 25th Anniversary Skullcap Beanie, Early 90s Rage Against the Machine Euro Bootleg Tee and Late 90s JNCO Jeans.
You are an avid collector of some of the rarest vintage music and film tees. Where did this interest stem from?
I think this interest stemmed from when I used to graphic design back in the day at the Boys and Girls Club. But what really triggered the collecting of graphic tees was when Kanye West and Jerry Lorenzo were wearing these faded, distressed band tees. I thought they were sick and tried to find a store that sold them. It took me months of research and asking around, but I finally came across Metropolis Vintage when they were on 3rd Ave. and 10th St. in lower Manhattan. I’d go every weekend to buy a tee. Over time I grew a collection of tees I’d sometimes sell or trade. Through buying, selling and trading vintage tees, I met a lot of vintage tee dealers and they taught me a couple things like how to spot a fake vintage rap tee, or how to price a shirt according to market value. A community slowly built up and everyone started exchanging tees and their knowledge on them. In a way, it justified my avid collecting because I knew I could at least make my money back if I were to get tired of a tee.
Robinson’s collection of rare vintage tees. Wearing 1997/1998 Aphex Twin “Come To Daddy” Long Sleeve, 2021 JNCO Jeans and 2001 Osiris D3.
A selection of Aphex Twin tees from Robinson’s collection.
Now obviously this is a huge passion of yours. What are some of your favorite finds and pieces you wish to obtain?
Some of my favorite pieces I acquired overtime are my Alice In Chains “Alice In Fuckin Chains” tees, my Rage Against the Machine self titled cover album long-sleeve, my Aphex Twin “Come to Daddy” long-sleeve, and my Massive Attack “No Protection” album cover. At this point, I’ve acquired all my t-shirt grails. One piece I would live to own one day is the highly coveted SS03 Raf Simons Parachute Bomber Jacket.
Pictured above: 1990/1991 Alice In Chains “In None We Trust” Tee, Vintage Deftones “Dickies Rip” featuring a photo of the members shot in 1995, 2007/2008 Lil Wayne Tee and 1998 Janet Jackson “Velvet Rope” Tour Tee. Photo by Jashawn Johnson
You run the page rrchive. How far do you want to take this?
I want to continue to showcasing my collection on my rrchive page but I want to take it up a notch and provide better photos of the pieces and provide more information on the context of the graphic or the history of the shirt and/or the musicians. After building a following and clientele, I’d like to start some sort of rental service for some of the pieces.
Pictured above: A collection of books depicting hip hop, punk vintage tees and Chrome Hearts wallet.
Do you find reproductions of pieces from the past to be sustainable?
No. Nothing is sustainable about making more of something that already exists. Not everyone had the chance to buy a t-shirt from a concert in 1993 because they weren’t even born yet so reproducing gives others who missed out on that concert to buy that tee, but the quality is never on par with the original. You just have to put in the time to find that original version and in most cases have to pay up, as they appreciate in value over the years.
While on the topic of sustainability, what are some brands or designers who you think practice sustainability very well?
I don’t know of any brands that are 100% sustainable. I don’t believe big brands practice sustainability even when they claim to. They just use that term as a selling point. Sure, they may have some aspects of sustainability, but at the end of the day, they’re still mass produced.
Are there some pieces you own that have an interesting story behind them?
AW1997 Jean Paul Gaultier “Fight Racism” Jeans: During the height of the George Floyd protests back in late May - early June of 2020, Middleman Store were providing story links to donations toward bail funds which helped change racism, inequality and injustice of a criminal legal system and immigration/deportation regimes that target people of color and/or of lower income. I would donate using their links almost daily. On one of those days, they incentivized their followers to donate and provide a screenshot of their donation as a raffle ticket for a chance to win the JPG jeans for free. I entered and won them for free. My birthday was only a couple days prior and it was one of those pandemic birthdays where I couldn’t go out to celebrate since every place was closed, but it was a cool little birthday gift in a way.
Pictured above: Jean Paul Gaultier “Fight Racism” Jeans from AW1997.
Nike x Off-White “The Ten” Blazers: In September 2017, Nike hosted a 5 day event called “Off Campus” for the release of “The Ten”. There were 2 parts to it, a conference with Virgil Abloh or a workshop for Nike customizations. But the seats were limited and really hard to get into since it was in high demand. I didn’t know anyone so my chances of getting in were near impossible, especially since it took place during the times I had class. Heron Preston posted to his Instagram that he’d be hosting a workshop on the last day. In the post, he said he’d choose 60 best titles of what we’d name our handmade image book of wearables. I commented “Wearabouts” in hopes of getting invited. A couple days later while I was in class, Heron DM’d a code to a secret link to redeem my invitation. I skipped class just to attend to the event where I was able to meet Heron for the first time, custom make my own Nike book of wearable (which was basically custom screen prints on Nike hoodies), and an exclusive chance to purchase 1 sneaker from the reveal pack of “The Ten”. Chicago 1s were already all sold out so I got the blazer 2 months before they released worldwide.
Pictured above: Nike x Off White Blazers.
Do you think your style now is influenced by a specific person or environment?
Wearing Stussy 25th Anniversary Skullcap Beanie, BrentMore Hoodie, JNCO Jeans w/contrast stitching and 2001 Osiris D3.
My style is heavily inspired by the rave and skate culture of the late 1990s to early 2000s. I can attribute that to the revival of that ethos when Vetements and Gosha Rubchinsky came around back in 2016. I remember coming across of a photo 3 kids in Ozzfest 2001 shot by Rebecca Lewis. All three wore a band tee (one had on a Rage Against the Machine tee, another had a Cradle of Filth tee and the last one had on a Deftones tee), with some super wide leg jeans and a wallet chain. I thought it was so sick and was a forgotten look that people did not want to revive. But I started seeing the resurgence of the aesthetic little by little and adopted it pretty early. I always jokingly tell people the kid with the afro and the Deftones tee is me because I literally dress like that everyday.
Wearing Stussy 25th Anniversary Skullcap Beanie, 2018 Aphex Twin Long Sleeve, Tripp NYC Pants and 2001 Osiris D3.
Pictured above: Tripp NYC Pants details.
What are some other ventures you want to pursue?
I want to pursue a career in sourcing and consulting for designers/design teams/clothing brands. Nowadays, designers are always referencing older pieces and I feel like with my experience in sourcing I can play an important role in a design team as someone who can provide the information and garments. I’ve also successfully done some trend forecasting and visual merchandising for Metropolis Vintage, which can be a great attribute to becoming a consultant.
Keep up with Denzel here
Words: Mitchell Louis and Denzel Robinson
Photo: Mitchell Louis
Direction: Mitchell Louis
Assist: Harvey Miguel, Jashawn Johnson
