T-shirts tell the story. Vintage T-shirt critic Rintaro Tanaka

It's just a T-shirt, but it's still a T-shirt. Each T-shirt tells an eloquent story of its owner's life. We asked vintage T-shirt critic Rintaro Tanaka to tell us about his favorite T-shirts.

text: Ryota Mukai

To the list of serials

An unworn T-shirt framed as a family heirloom

The first volume of "My Freedamn!", which featured American vintage T-shirts, was published in 2003. Since then, I have published multiple volumes, and must have introduced at least 10,000 T-shirts. Among them, there is one Harley-Davidson T-shirt that I have specially framed as a family heirloom.

This sample T-shirt was made when he became the American motorcycle racing champion in 1969. It was also the first item to feature the "1" design with the Stars and Stripes pattern that is still used today.

Naturally, it's a piece of historical importance. What's more, it was given to me by Mert Lawwill, the winning rider at the time and someone I admire. This was around 1999. In other words, it's a piece that laid the foundation for my current work.

Mert Lawwill autographed T-shirt
The T-shirt is autographed by Mert Lawwill and is topped with a Harley-Davidson poster from the same period.

To the list of serials

SHARE ON

FEATURED MOVIES
Featured Videos

BRUTUS
OFFICIAL SNS
Brutus Official SNS

FEATURED MOVIES
Featured Videos