Against the prevailing mood in the United States he so loves, Kinji Teramoto refuses to turn inward. Hence, the man who refers to himself as the “archivenist” — a term he coined — and who has revived the iconic American labels Big Yank and Rocky Mountain Featherbed, is bringing them with him to 30 Galerie Vivienne, in Paris’s 2nd arrondissement. Open from January 20 to 28, the pop-up will primarily showcase RMFC and its down-filled garments, better suited to the current season, with Big Yank shirts taking a back seat.

On arriving in Paris, Teramoto hopes to blend Tokyo’s gentle spirit with the cool elegance of the French capital. This trip from Japan follows the arrival in 2025 of the European branch of 35IVE Summers, the brands’ parent company, in Paris. Accordingly, the success of this pop-up store will determine whether the two labels secure a lasting presence on Parisian streets, a long-standing project for Teramoto and his teams.

A Paris outpost in the pipeline?

Paris represents a particular opportunity for the “archivenist”, not least because his partner at Anatomica, Pierre Fournier, is based there. The City of Light is also an ideal place to raise the profile of RMFC and Big Yank. The two American brands, founded in the late 1960s and in 1919, respectively, were acquired by 35IVE Summers in 2005 and 2012. Based on a series of pieces acquired by Teramoto, both labels have been relaunched with products that marry heritage and modern, Japan-based manufacturing. Should a permanent presence be established, 35IVE Summers would even look to produce locally the pieces sold in Europe, embracing a local production-and-distribution model.

All of this is underpinned by a highly unusual development cycle. “Garments made in one or two months are incomplete,” Teramoto explained. “We create patterns and produce samples at least three times, then personally try the finished items and wear them for at least six months to observe how they age. This process is our 18-month commitment,” he continued.

Passing on to future generations

The “archivenist”, who rejects the label of collector, believes that every vintage piece carries meaning, having endured through time.

“I only collect what I can truly bring back to life. […] My aim is for the next generation to wear these pieces and in turn pass them on to the next,” he added.

What’s more, RMFC and Big Yank pieces, which revisit designs several decades old, feed the vintage market and will once again be unearthed by new generations.

Teramoto’s wish to preserve the aesthetics of archival pieces springs from his passion for the labels he has brought back to life: “What these two brands created was truly iconic. What I felt at the time became my business, beyond mere commercial viability,” he confides. “At the time, I could never have imagined that the pieces I created from these archives would be embraced by the global market.”

RMFC and Big Yank have not only been reborn; they are thriving. Rocky Mountain Featherbed closes 2025 with significant growth in Europe and the Americas, with sales in Japan also on the rise.

Big Yank, meanwhile, is seeing its sales climb in Japan, according to Teramoto. In 2025, the brand appointed BerBer Jin’s Yutaka Fujihara as creative director, a move that “is currently attracting strong interest, at least in Japan.”

He is expected at the Paris pop-up store “to increase brand awareness in Europe and the Americas.”