To some people, vintage clothing and items are the rage just now. You can call it a trend or whatever–but it’s been present all along from the start. Thrifting was never a trend to some individuals who find the thrill of the hunt and the stories behind their prized finds. Plus, using old and used stuff contributes greatly to the environment.
Pioneering the vintage movement is a store in Quezon City called Season Pass who is greatly passionate about what they do. As they all say it’s not about the money and this holds true for this creative and forward-thinking group. They have been at it before vintage was considered cool or even profitable.
We’ve recently caught up with Lean Torres, part-owner of Season Pass to pick his brain and know more about his labor of love. Sit back, relax and enjoy…
Can you share with us how Season Pass started out? Just a little history run-through?
Season Pass started around 2018 with a group of fellow sellers/friends during my time in streetwear. I’ve been a reseller for about 3 years thru FB groups and decided to make one last upgrade which was making a physical store.
You’ve been into vintage for the longest time. Why do you think there’s a sudden surge of interest?
Well for vintage, it checks out everything of how we loved streetwear back in the day. It was rarity, exclusivity & more in-depth in terms of history than just clothes themselves.
Your regular selling events (online and physical) in today’s times show your resilience. How do you maintain such enthusiasm?
It’s just passion for clothes as well as the willingness to give back to the community. It’s always gonna be a cycle since it helps out the economy in regards to the vintage market.
I know you collect too. What is it about your curation that makes your store stand out?
I collect pieces that I can 100% connect with or have an interest in. It’s never gonna be the sole purpose of standing out but more of being genuine all throughout the process.
You also put a value on the community aspect. How do you manage to connect with them so seamlessly?
To be honest, there are different ways to connect to people in the community. As time progresses, you meet people on the same wavelength as you are such as interests & hobbies. But as a whole mostly we connect thru our events, through posts where we highlight people in the community (e.g. fits, featured collections, & writeups/appreciation posts). So basically for the duration of the pandemic, we connected all through social media.
Within the local vintage/streetwear scene, how would you rate it? 10 being the highest?
Everything has pros & cons, and every part of it has its own problems. The passion for clothes & the history that comes with them keeps you going, as well as the people you surround yourself with. The most important thing for me is the thrill of the hunt. So probably around 6-7 for both.
Any future plans for Season Pass?
More projects, better relationships among peers, & constant improvement all throughout.
Your message to TIH readers and shoutouts if you got any?
Thank you for supporting us & giving us the platform to tell our story. shoutouts to the CFM team (@underthesunmnl, @thevintagejunkiemnl, @vistmnl & @givemetheloot) & the people I became friends with before and during the pandemic, lastly to my main team in running Season Pass (Kuya Macky, Raniel, Earl, Melvin, & many more to mention.)
Season Pass is located at 63 Maginhawa, UP Village, Quezon City.
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