"Show me a pillow and I will rest my head. Show me a pen and I shall write my name. Forgive me. Not for what I said. Forgive me. For what I could not."
By Marlo Saalmink
Tired of insta-gainers, false “influencer” prophets, torrential digital zoom-drones, and viral dystopian news feeds? Oh Yes. In need of some authentic distraction by means of unbridled enthused menswear chit-chat? Tom Àdam got you covered.
Frankly, it took some time for him to finally find his way into us. About as Fucking Young as they come, this guy is a true gunner. His ways differ from others, he ain’t no loudmouth tall story-teller or a printed re-run garb seller. Nope. Tom is a tennis-playing, book devouring, nocturnal ping-pong thief, turned impeccable tailor (or tinker if you will). Together with papa, mamma, grandma, and the family’s servient canine, he slowly built his own highly personal universe; crafting natty undies, sartorial PJ’s and crisp knitwear from the finest yarns he could find. Featuring here donning his own creations, we found this loveable modest gentleman fearlessly navigating the underbelly (forget Zola), of whatever remains of good olé romantic seedy Berlin. Let’s listen to what this punk Peter Pan has to say.
Marlo: Mājas. Welcome Tom, what kind of a boy were you?
Tom Adam Vitolins: Thank you for having me. Well, Tom was a curious boy: Loving, emotional, sensitive, and highly talkative. That order was constantly changing, though. One of my strongest childhood memories is of playing tennis. It was something I was deeply immersed in, not just by watching it, but by playing actively. On the weekends, we would occasionally play doubles, my parents, sister, and me. Related to this: I always remember this quote from the movie “A Good Year” where the main character Max, as a young child plays tennis against his granddad Henry, and he is absolutely furious when he loses the match.
Uncle Henry then says the following, “You’ll come to see that a man learns nothing from winning. The act of losing, however, can elicit great wisdom. Not least of which is, uh… how much more enjoyable it is to win. It is inevitable to lose now and again. The trick is not to make a habit of it.” At the time, having the ambitions to be a professional tennis player and simultaneously struggling with my emotions on the court (being a sore loser) it really stayed in my mind. The highs of winning triggered joy and losing had the complete opposite effect. This was important for me to realize that both emotions should be properly balanced.
Marlo: Ante. In our Youth, many of us, have this sort of epiphany, a moment where it all clicks and you say: I will do things differently, I will follow this path and nothing will stop me… Did you?
Tom: For myself, this was an accumulation of different things. My parents always gave me a lot of freedom in my choices and I had to be the one who took responsibility for them. Marlo, paraphrasing our lovely conversations – I was Spassky and they were Fischer. I thought that I had it, but they were already two steps in front of me. I had space to try things out and if something went absolutely off-grid, my parents would be there for me. I grew up with lots of unconditional love from them, which allowed me to quickly shift directions, think – chasing tennis balls and sliding over a crisp clay court on a sunny day.
Marlo: Nihon. Before we dive into your work, by simply looking at the fabrics and understated feel, Japan springs to mind immediately. Surely you have been there and it must have inspired you?
Tom: From warm toilet seats to seeing Yukitsuri in Kanazawa (a technique used to protect trees from snow) and choosing restaurants by seeing plastic faux food in the storefronts. It felt like stepping out of conventional reality. There were this simultaneous closeness and distance. The culture appears to me like an artichoke, whereby every layer tells a different story. At first, it is somewhat hard to relate to and you just feel like peeling off layer after layer and still not being close to the essence, which is something that makes it what it is. The discovery into the unknown. From an aesthetic point of view, it made me rediscover and appreciate minimalism and not only in a way of style or architectural direction but as a culture and way of life.
"Aging is an inevitable perpetuum mobile, but we can shift our perception of it. I think it makes for a more healthy and thoughtful way of approaching life."
Marlo: Wabi-not-so-Sabi. In a world, where many things are easily discarded, few Westerners have fully and deeply grasped this profoundly simple concept. What does it mean to you?
Tom: I feel that in Western society there is this urge to pre-determine and label everything. With Wabi-Sabi, it is the other way around, all eyes are aimed toward acceptance. Things are observed but not judged. Ageing is an inevitable perpetuum mobile, but we can shift our perception of it. I think it makes for a more healthy and thoughtful way of approaching life.
Marlo: Librarian. As we spoke over the phone several times, often we would find ourselves speaking of literature. Could you share some writers and/or works, that deeply resonates within you and why?
Tom: Marlo, as you know there was a lot of talk going on and some well-known names were dropped. Now I might have to start digging through my perpetual reading list… I was deeply touched by Patti Smith “Just Kids”. I was shedding tears when reading it on a plane and at that moment I didn’t know about Jenna Sutela’s tear crystals, so, unfortunately, I didn’t collect them. Eileen Myles “Chelsea Girls” had a big impact on me. Her conflicting aspects of personality and unaltered rawness is very captivating. Maybe, I am just having my New York 1970’s period whilst obtaining literature and daydreaming about actually living there.
Also here are some books that I am looking forward to reading, but have not tackled yet:
1- *Insert a book here* by Edmund de Waal, I highly recommend looking up his videos on youtube, where he talks about pottery and jewellery. It’s the highest form of flattery. It is one of those ‘find someone who looks at you, the way Edmund de Waal looks at ancient pottery.’
2- Olivia Laing’s “Funny Weather”, she had her book presentation during the coronsky and I loved her genuine and thoughtful outlook on art.
Marlo: Tommy Textile. So let us turn to the work, the garments, the physical product of your hands and mind. What do your clothes wish to be, what is their contribution to the sartorial world?
Tom: I have always had a very distinct sense of what I want to wear, ever since the days of being young and curious Tom. The clothes have always been another way of expressing myself, a physical extension of my inner state of mind. My desire is to bring effortlessness to people wearing the clothes I have designed. I must say that when I design, I have myself at the centre of it, thinking, how I would like the clothes to feel and look. In my opinion, clothes should not restrict either my outer or inner world. They should operate as a nice detail, but not overpower everything else. There has to be a balance between you telling the story and the clothes telling the story. I would not want one to overshadow the other.
Marlo: Always Papa. That you work closely with your family is a beautiful humble thing, it reminds me of small ateliers, craftsmen, fishermen passing on their trade. What makes it that you guys get along so well?