Some streets in Madrid and Barcelona have become real centres of attraction for vintage lovers. Shops dedicated to this trend follow one another door to door, offering all kinds of objects related to nostalgia, to the past.

More and more people are becoming interested in buying objects from other eras, objects that can no longer be found, objects that are no longer manufactured, that are no longer profitable for modern industries that value low-cost, mass production and, on many occasions, with programmed obsolescence.

There are specific fashion shops where you can find everything from hats to dresses, from 70s accessories such as headbands or hair clips to boutiques specialising in furniture and everyday objects from 80s homes, where you can find cupboards, duralex glasses or arcopal coffee sets.

“Many people’s faces change when they come in. They recognise in some object something from their childhood, something they had at home when they were little or that brings back memories of their parents or grandparents”, explains Cristina Ortega, owner of Amores Eternos in Madrid, a shop specialising in vintage fashion, but which also offers other antique products as Heritage in Barcelona.

Vintage is also making a comeback in the technology world. Analogue products are making a comeback, as shown by the sales figures for vinyl records, which have overtaken CDs, and disposable cameras, which are growing all the time.

“Imperfect is now a value. Putting a vinyl on the turntable and listening to the needle sputtering… Or taking photos with the risk of one coming out wrong, with your eyes closed. Digital is so perfect, so clinical… That it loses all the fun”, reasons Francisco del Pozo, a judge who has a YouTube channel with more than 35,000 followers where he gives advice on vinyl and hi-fi equipment.

Cristóbal Benavente, from Sales de Plata (Silver salts) photographic studio in Madrid, is of the same opinion: “When you shoot in digital you think… One of 400 will turn out well, so you just shoot. And the fun of analogue is to stop and think because you only have 36 and you have to spend time evaluating which photo you want to take. Also, there’s a texture, the grain… it’s something that in digital you can only imitate, so why not go straight to the original”, he explains.

Fans of analogue photography continue to grow, and curiously, among the younger population. “It’s funny, but nine out of ten people who come into the shop are young people who want to shoot analogue and learn how to develop. There is a lot of pull, and as an example, some analogue cameras have gone up in value, multiplying their price by up to ten times”.