This Instagram Account Is a Gold Mine for Rare Japanese Fashion, Auction Goodies, and More

Instagram: @archiving.stacks

Founder: Shahan Assadourian, an amateur fashion archivist and Japanese design enthusiast

Current location: Montreal, Canada

Followers: About 12.5 thousand, with a substantial fashion-insider contingent

The gist: Assadourian’s Instagram is the best of the best when it comes to fashion imagery from rare indie Japanese magazines and books of the early ’80s through the late ’90s. There are several hard-to-find photos from fashion shows of that period, too. Standout uploads include a runway shot of a patchwork suit from Comme des Garçons Homme Plus Spring 2000 and a faded detail close-up of an Issey Miyake zippable jacket pocket from Fall 1991. Assadourian has cultivated a stellar collection of images from more under-the-radar, cult Japanese labels, as well, such as Beauty:Beast (check the rolled-square toe boots), Kansai Yamamoto (peep the suits from 1981!), and 20471120 (note the trove of chic mini Pikachus from Fall 1999).

The feed isn’t strictly Japan-centric. Helmut Lang, Jil Sander, Dolce & Gabbana, Claude Montana, and Walter Van Beirendonck get a look in, too.

So what started it all? Assadourian has a real soft spot for used bookstores. He enjoys “that old-book smell.” One day in Toronto at a bookshop, Assadourian found an issue of Gap Press, a magazine cataloging collections from Tokyo Fashion Week—volume 21, to be exact—from 1999. “I kind of used it as a Rosetta stone to find out about these Japanese labels I’d never heard of,” he explains. “My first impulse was that I had to show people these things.” Soon after, Assadourian began researching each designer, first adding his findings to Tumblr, a personal website, and eventually Instagram.

It’s also an unexpected destination for fashion auction sites. Assadourian scours auction websites for obscure Japanese design treasures. Japan-based auction sites are a go-to, including Zozo, where Assadourian has found Comme des Garçons bowling shoes. But the best auction site for rare fashion finds is the Japan-based Yahoo! Auctions. From there, he has featured a bleached flower shirt by Masaki Matsushima from Spring 1997 and a deconstructable jacket from Undercover. For Assadourian, the lo-fi appearance of the Yahoo Auction images is what makes it special. “In a way, it strips the glamour from it and there is something cool about it,” he says. “When you get it [the item] in person, it is so much better than the photo and much more exciting.” A number of these items find their way into Assadourian’s own wardrobe, which he archives with meticulous care. “I have not bought a new garment that isn’t socks or underwear in years,” he says. “I try to know the year of production for every garment I own.”

Not every scan is perfect, but that is what makes it great. Assadourian has a series called “scan rejects,” images that have a warped, fun-house-mirror appearance because of a scanning hiccup. It has become a favorite on his Instagram. “Scan rejects are ones that are altered because I accidentally moved the book or magazine as I was scanning it!” he says. “A lot of times it ends up looking cool or pretty, so I post them and even do some of them on purpose to get a surreal version of the photo.” A pretty example? This stretched-out Prada Spring 1998 photo.