LADI KAZEEM

There aren’t many vintage sellers with the pedigree of Ladi Kazeem. As the founder of both The Vault and Surrealism Habituary, Kazeem curates a selection of everything from vintage band T-shirts to archive film posters. Across everything he does and sells, music is a consistent theme, particularly through his sought-after vintage merch.

What do you do for a living?

I’ve got vintage shops, primarily a poster shop that is vintage art, vintage band posters, vintage memorabilia, and merchandise. I've also got another shop which is centralised around vintage T-shirts and band merch, but also movie merch, art merch, but T-shirts and ‘90s basically. I try and find original band T-shirts from the ‘90s that are hidden away, and I'll go travel around Europe to try to find these old T-shirts that I haven't seen for years and years and years and bring them back to life.

When was the first time you saw a G9? Do you remember who was wearing it?

It was actually in Manchester. I was living in a house share, ironically owned by a footballer. I'd heard about the brand, and I knew bits about Baracuta here and there. And then he said I could take some of his pieces, and there was a green Baracuta G9 and obviously I didn't know too much about that, but I'd seen Harrington Jackets in the past so that was the first time I had one. But it was given to me, gifted to me from a friend.

What does your job and the G9 Harrington have in common?

I would say that they’re all about style, authenticity, and a rarity.

What cultural changes do you think are connected to the G9?

I used to associate the jacket more with Mods and Rockers culture, but now I see people who wear G9s who come from different backgrounds, who have different styles. People who are interested in different things, different types of music. That's the cultural change.

Do you think that the G9 has affected the aesthetic of the young generation over time?

I'd say that for me personally, that G9 was an affiliation to a certain scene when I was growing up, people who were into a certain type of music, the Mods, the Rockers, that sort of thing. When I was growing up, it was a certain type of person who wore the G9 in the area I'm from, which is very working class, very Northern, and you see people with the scooters and everything else going to the valleys. So, I've seen the journey of G9. I think obviously things are changing and you're seeing people who are taking more risks with what they wear.

As the G9 is a piece of authentic British style, what does Britishness mean to you?

For me an example of Britishness is getting out of bed on a Monday morning and working, being productive constantly, day in day out. Because I'm Northern, work is quite a vibe that I'm around on a day-to-day basis. Constantly having a smile on your face, even when things aren't going the way you want them to do. That's Britishness to me. It’s being hard-working, productive, and enthusiastic.