The international gathering of vintage fashion dealers, vintage clothing brands and American collectors returns to the Pasadena Convention Center next week for its 19th edition and fourth consecutive year in the city’s Civic Center District.
inspiration LA Vol. 19 is located in Hall B of the convention center at 300 E. Green St. on Friday, April 10, and Saturday, April 11. Founded in 2010 by a Japanese journalist and historian of vintage fashion named Rin Tanaka Barker Hangar in Santa Monica, the two-day exhibition has grown from a small meeting to what the Heddels trade publication describes the biggest events in the world of vintage and vintage. 2013 title. Tickets are available at the door only, starting at $10.
The event’s lineup features international vendors and exhibitors offering vintage American clothing from the 1900s through the 1980s, vintage-inspired and contemporary fashions from American and Japanese retail companies, surf and skate equipment, hot rods, antiques, records and audio equipment, and live music.
Visit Pasadena, the tourism bureau operated by the Pasadena Convention & Visitors Bureau, lists Inspiration LA among the convention center’s annual events. The office describes the show as a vintage and lifestyle event focusing on clothing, accessories and objects from the 1920s through the 1990s, according to its website.
Tanaka, who was born in Iwakuni City, Yamaguchi Prefecture, Japan, in 1970 and moved to San Clemente, California, in 1998, is also the author and publisher of “My Freedamn!” A series of books chronicling some of the classic American fashion styles including workwear, motorcycle culture, rock and roll and surf style.
“Around 2008, when I announced my 20th title, I started planning a small party,” Tanaka said in a report published by Voyage LA. “That was the original idea for my old costume game ‘Inspiration.’
The first Inspiration show was held at Barker Hangar in Santa Monica on February 12-13, 2010. In the same interview, Tanaka said that the first event attracted more people than he expected. The show later moved to the Spruce Goose Dome in Long Beach and the Los Angeles Convention Center, where the last pre-pandemic edition took place in February 2020. After a three-year hiatus, the show moved to the Pasadena Convention Center for its 14th edition in April 2023, according to the event’s archive.
The event logo and image was created by Shawn Stussy, founder of streetwear brand Stüssy, according to the Inspiration LA website. Stussy, which started selling logo-embellished surfboards and T-shirts out of Laguna Beach in the early 1980s, is widely credited with helping bridge surf culture and urban street fashion.
This year’s sponsors include RRL (Double RL & Co., a heritage brand of Ralph Lauren), Calbee, Lecs, Freenote Cloth and Handly, according to the event’s website.
Two later parties are planned in Los Angeles: a Friday evening party at Freenote Cloth, 5509 N. Figueroa St., Los Angeles, from 7 to 10 p.m., and a Saturday evening party at RRL Melrose, 8150 Melrose Ave., Los Angeles, from 7 to 10 p.m., according to the event’s website.
Ticket prices range from $10 to $80. An Early Bird ticket, for $80, covers two days with entry from 10am to 4pm each day and early access to the set-up. A two-day pass costs $50, with Friday admission from noon to 4 p.m. and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Friday preview tickets are $40, Saturday tickets are $20, and Saturday afternoon tickets are $10. Note: The official event ticket page has differences in the dates and times listed for certain ticket levels; attendees should confirm details directly with the organizer.
The Pasadena Convention Center, a LEED Gold certified facility in the city’s Civic Center district, is accessible from major highways and close to Old Pasadena. A March 27 announcement on the Inspiration LA website offers several parking options near the site.
inspiration LA Vol. 19 takes place Friday, April 10, and Saturday, April 11, at the Pasadena Convention Center, Hall B, 300 E. Green St. Tickets at the door only: $10 to $80. Phone: (626) 795-9311. Notes: inspirationla.com.
“A bigger audience than I expected came to my show,” Tanaka said of the first Inspiration conference in 2010, in an interview with Voyage LA. 16 years later, the exhibit he built fills a conference hall in Pasadena.
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