THE JOURNAL
“It’s A Never-Ending Treasure Hunt” – Burned Out Is The Vintage T-Shirt Brand To Know
When someone asks Mr Tom Hunt what he does for a living, he often gives the same answer. “I usually go with, ‘I sell the old stuff your dad threw away.’ It’s probably quite close to the truth.” Hunt is the founder of Burned Out, a vintage T-shirt “brand” that began as a hobby and has quickly grown into one of the most exciting reselling projects in the fashion world. From faded Black Sabbath and Megadeth concert T-shirts to rare pieces from Morrissey tours, Hunt’s collection is a kind of cultural timeslip to some of the greatest moments in modern music history.
“It’s a never-ending treasure hunt, really,” says Hunt. “The T-shirts are a snapshot of a past culture, a historic event, most likely worn by someone far cooler than me.” Every morning at his house is “like a mini Christmas”, thanks to the various postal services dropping off parcels full of his latest finds. “The motivation [I have] is that it can never be completed,” he says. “There is always a shirt you have never seen before.”
Hunt has a good eye for what will sell and some of the T-shirts from Burned Out, examples of which land on MR PORTER today, are incredibly rare finds. He singles out the Deftones T-shirt (“This era of music is really picking up pace as collectible, the iPod generation are dipping back into their playlists on the hunt for vintage merchandise”) as well as the rare Cradle Of Filth “Total Fucking Darkness” tee, something Vetements used for its 2017 collection and, according to Hunt, “on the tamer side” of the band’s output in the 1990s.
His favourite, though, is a Manic Street Preachers T-shirt. “It’s a Harley-Davidson graphic rip on the front, perfectly used given it’s a promotional shirt for their ‘Motorcycle Emptiness’ track,” he says. “The print is bold and brash and the size is much larger than you’d expect. It’s just a perfect combination. But all of that also doesn’t really matter. It’s just an effortlessly cool shirt that works in 1992 or now, 30 years later.”
Before becoming a master reseller, Hunt worked for a car manufacturer in prototype development. He found himself with a lot of downtime between launches and turned to reselling. “I’d always sold trainers and streetwear on eBay, so knew there was a market for collectible second-hand goods,” he says. “It was sort of a stumble into vintage band T-shirts, though.”
The first one he sold was a 1992 bootleg Guns N’ Roses long-sleeve shirt that he’d worn to death and picked up for £3 in a local charity shop. It went for more than 10 times that. “Checking sold listings, I saw this was a common occurrence, so that sparked the hunt for more,” he says. “I picked up bits here and there, started an Instagram and very crude website and basically became a professional hoarder. The Guns N’ Roses shirt that starts the brand story probably would be worth £200 to £300 now.”
“An authentically worn vintage shirt cannot be replicated. The natural distressing from years of doing and washing, print cracking, fabric wear are all things that make it so personal”
Burned Out feels particularly relevant in the fashion world right now because it represents a sustainable approach to buying and cherishing clothing (something Hunt refers to as “repair and repeat”), which is impervious to the influence of wider fashion trends. “The benefit to not being massively trend oriented is you can put the time in to finding the perfect item,” says Hunt. “The wait makes it more worthwhile.”
Plus, the element of authenticity and history you get from a Burned Out piece isn’t something any old brand can replicate. “I firmly believe that an authentically worn vintage shirt cannot be replicated,” says Hunt. “The natural distressing from years of doing and washing, print cracking, fabric wear are all things that make it so personal. A lot of newer brands try to make something close with artificial ageing methods, but nothing beats the real thing.”
Overall, Hunt hopes that Burned Out will give people who may be hesitant or new to the vintage clothing space the encouragement and curiosity to try including some in their wardrobes. “Your favourite shirt you didn’t know about might have already been made 25 years ago,” he says.