Rattamontta

It was like time travel to somewhere in a different dimension. If it caused a feeling of déjà vu, it must have been travel to the past. But it felt like travel to the future, as I recalled the beautiful clothes there with shapes and designs that I hope to see some day in the future.

Two hours of staying at this place filled with refined beauties gave me a belief that absolute beauty can exist. What the owner of this place told me was true—that this place would offer something I had never seen and interesting stories I had never heard before. It was not an illusion or braggadocio. I suddenly realized that I, not really interested in history or the meanings of clothes, was deeply immersed in the beautiful scenes surrounding me, looking around the place in detail.

Warm sunlight floods in through large glass walls facing the Han River, pleasant scents spread across the space and perfectly managed humidity that made me think any of its clothes would feel so fresh and soft…I couldn’t believe I was in a space that contains vintage clothes, some of which are nearly 100 years old. I have the same feeling as I run into a fresh garden well managed by the tender loving care of its owners. That’s my first impression of this place, Rattamontta.

Figure 1. Jihyeon Lee, founder and CEO of Rattamontta, and I sat on two old chairs and started our conversation with the beautiful Han River as a backdrop. The conversation went on for about two hours. It was a meaningful time for me to talk about unfamiliar but interesting topics with him while staring at the Han River instead of vintage clothes.

Rattamontta has special original vintage items from the 1850s to 1980s. Not old, dusted items called ‘vintage’ for their signs of aging, but ‘meaningful and special’ things that deeply affected the ways we live in this modern world are thoughtfully curated, not just displayed, at Rattamontta.

*Figure 2. They might look nothing special. But each of these items is very rare and has special meaning.*

Some rules

There are some rules for visiting Rattamontta. You have to make an appointment and visit alone. About 1.5 hours will be given for you to look around. And there’s a $200 minimum purchase requirement for looking around the place and collectibles. I wondered why there are so many rules, which made me feel a little bit uncomfortable to be honest with you.

But I came to understand why after exploring Rattamontta and speaking with Jihyeon. These rules are in place to deliver genuine stories in their entirety.

Jihyeon Lee is very serious about meaningful old stuff. He doesn’t dive into anything simply old. His interests are boiled down to this—what you don’t know and what I don’t know yet. The curiosity for things that we don’t know yet has led him all the way to where he is.

He collects special items, primarily clothes, and provides them to people in need of these items in various ways. Rattamontta and its collectibles have inspired global fashion brands in preparation for new seasons, as well as motifs for film directors that need details for specific historical eras. For those with a pure love for clothes, Rattamontta should be a vintage clothing seller they dream of.

Jihyeon looks forward to someone getting the most out of the results of his persistent hard work and serious attitudes toward meaningful vintage pieces, saying that he is waiting for someone to bother him to fully utilize his expertise and experience.

So, the rules at Rattamontta are like a device for minimizing potential waste of time for both customers and Jihyeon while allowing Jihyeon to completely focus on one customer at a time.

Figure 3. Jihyeon Lee, founder and CEO of Rattamontta, in a 1950s Levi’s vintage hoodie in front of an original Levi’s poster.

Mania and movies

We talked about movies as we concluded the two-hour conversation.

“Did you watch Pulp Fiction? There is a famous car cleaning scene in the movie where Vincent, Jules and the Wolf cleaned up a bloody car and lined the front and back seats with quilts and blankets. Quentin Tarantino, who played Jimmie Dimmick, frowned as he gave them the quilts and blankets. Do you know why? Cause the quilts and blankets used to line the bloody car seat are really expensive ones. That is visible to only those who know the products well.”

Jihyeon moved on to another movie. “Did you watch Kill Bill? Have you ever heard about the name Hattori Hanzo? When Beatrix Kiddo, portrayed by Uma Thurman, brought up the name Hattori Hanzo at a sushi bar, the chill and humorous sushi chef suddenly changed his attitude. That’s probably because he sympathized with her genuine commitment to her task."

"So, Hattori Hanzo, a sword master disguised as a sushi chef, crafted his best sword ever for Beatrix. And he handed over the sword on his knees. I think this scene is about commitment. Beatrix traveled a long way to get a Hattori Hanzo steel. The sword master has the same level of commitment as Beatrix as well. As Hattori Hanzo felt Beatrix’s dedication to her mission, he broke the oath not to make a sword that kills people and took a month to create the finest sword of his life."

Figure 4. Most of his collections are vintages that were never sold and thus have no signs of wear. They are so clean and well managed that you can hardly believe that these are already decades old. I can’t even imagine how much effort he has put in to collect and manage these items in such an excellent condition.

How many people out there could be committed to something so wholeheartedly for a long time? The amazing collections at Rattamontta, a legacy of his perseverance and hard work, unthinkable level of commitment to vintages and deep expertise, are more than enough to inspire whoever visits Rattamontta with a sincere love of vintage clothes.

“Nothing here, Nothing there.” This phrase is on Jihyeon’s business card. For some people, Rattamontta might feel like an empty space without anything significant. But for those who get to understand the place, the world outside Rattamontta in which we live day in day out could feel like nothing.

Rattamontta is a private showroom for rare and unique collectibles and vintage clothes. I strongly recommend that you visit this place with an appointment if you’re in pursuit of something wholeheartedly.