Igor Termenón discovered DEARHUNTER through a friend’s recommendation just before taking a plane to Rotterdam. He met Hanneke at her store by the Westersingel Canal in March 2020.
Just one week before ending up self-isolating at home in Madrid, I was lucky enough to travel to Rotterdam to work on a city guide focusing on sustainability. Vintage store DEARHUNTER wasn’t in my original schedule, but a last minute recommendation made me message Hanneke to arrange a visit to her store.
I must admit (sorry, Hanneke) that I almost cancelled the appointment on that same morning I was supposed to visit — blame it on the miserable weather and walking from one corner of the city to the other with not enough warm clothes — but I’m glad I didn’t.
When I walked in, Hanneke was casually ironing some of the unique clothes you can find at her store. I introduced myself, complimented her on the beautiful interiors — not the usual ‘shabby chic’ decor, thankfully — and immediately engaged on a conversation about creating your own style, diving into second-hand clothing containers and why we should all buy vintage.
On how vintage consumers have changed over the past few years…
I’ve seen a different type of customer coming to the shop. Recently, it has become a mainstream habit. Before, vintage used to be more for artistic people who wanted to express themselves and own unique clothing — so it was more about uniqueness rather than sustainability.
Nowadays it’s really been shifting and it’s still, of course, about owning unique items, but there are a lot of people who don’t want to shop new anymore and want to try to create a wardrobe through second-hand stores.
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On selecting the pieces stocked at DEARHUNTER…
I select everything myself and it makes me stand out from other vintage stores. I go through a whole bunch of used items at factories and I dive into them — it’s really not romantic. This means that I make a decision about all the pieces that are available at DEARHUNTER.
Sometimes these pieces are like maybe borderline fashion or not there yet, funny, funky… If there’s something I really detest, I wouldn’t stock it. I try to have a balance between really fashionable things, funny clothing (not too serious stuff), things that haven’t been worn much, and good prints and quality materials.
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On trends in vintage garments…
There are always some pieces that are on trend. When I started out it was more like 70s style coats with belts, and now it’s more about straight fits. LEVI’S as well, I like them but I think it’s very boring because you can go into any second hand store and find them, although they always sell really well.
I also think that there are trends within vintage clothing. For example, when I started I would look for blouses with a certain type of print that made me really happy and now, if I see something like that I say “let’s move on, that’s in the past”, and I have to find something new.
On why we should buy vintage clothing…
The fashion industry is so polluting and it’s not necessary to buy new things — there are already lots of nicer and creative items. Just have a look and let yourself be surprised rather than looking for something in particular