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‘People are looking for identity and so they create tribes around underground cult labels like A Bathing Ape. Having limited stuff becomes a signifier of your devotion to that tribe,’ says Neal Boorman, author of ‘Bonfire of the Brands’, about his experience of burning every branded item he owned. ‘I would say the attraction to buying limited edition is less about the owning, more about the hunting. People who queue outside A Bathing Ape at 4am are searching for a sense of community and belonging.’

‘While anyone with money can have a wardrobe brimming with designer clothing, a flash car, and be dripping with diamonds, it takes time, dedication, intelligence and passion to cultivate an interest in, and establish a collection of, art and design,’ says Tom Greatrex, insight director at trend forecasting agency Anterior: Insight. This perhaps explains why limited editions are increasingly a place where art and commerce collide.’
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In 2003 Gavin Turk produced an exhibition in collaboration with a host of his famous friends, including Bobby Gillespie and Alison Goldfrapp. Turk sent out an invitation that included a ‘Gavin Turk’ clothing label, the idea being that the celebrities would attach the label to their favourite item of clothing. The resulting garments were exhibited at Oki-Ni’s Savile Row store and then reproduced in limited-edition runs, thereby raising the issue of artistic ownership and the value a label bestows on a product. Earlier this year Oki-Ni also worked with the photographer Mark Lebon to produce a capsule collection of T-shirts in conjunction with accessories designer Judy Blame to support ‘the penny and the postsack’ exhibition – a celebration of Lebon’s working relationship with the fine artist/fashion designer Christopher Nemeth. Since 2004, even Coca-Cola has been working regularly with artists, pop stars and designers such as Matthew Williamson, The Designers Republic and Scissor Sisters to design limited-edition bottles.

A million miles away from the stereotyped ‘stuffiness’ associated with the traditional art scene, the ‘Urban Vinyl’ movement reinvents our notion of what a toy can be and also gives birth to a new and highly lucrative creative and collectable medium. The scene is a fast-moving and secretive one, with rumours of collaborations between designers and artists spread on the internet by an international network of enthusiasts.

The anticipation of the release of a Medicom toy designed by New York graffiti legend Kaws and cult album-cover illustrator Pus Head (Metallica, Black Flag) sent prices soaring to $1,000 at auction. A James Jarvis toy designed specially for the Hong Kong store Silly Thing can fetch $400 in online auctions. Other artists and design collectives to look out for include Pete Fowler, Tokyo Plastic, and Studio AKA.

Aidan Onn, owner of the Playlounge toy store in Soho, which is one of the country’s leading retailers of Urban Vinyl, says: ‘I think the market for limited-edition toys and trainers is like postmodern porcelain for a new generation. It’s similar to the way your parents might have collected Wedgwood, but with a different set of references.’

In Playlounge people often buy two of the same toy, so that one can be kept sealed in its box. ‘It does become quite obsessive as people try to outdo each other with complete collections. Many of the toys and trainers are never worn or displayed, because they’ll be worth more eventually. They remain hermetically sealed.’It seems that things have gone full circle, with limited-edition prints in the contemporary art scene giving the average consumer the chance to own a Banksy, a Jamie Hewlett or even a Bridget Riley print. But according to Maria Morrow, manager of the Fitzrovia-based Rebecca Hossack Gallery, would-be Charles Saatchis should beware. She says: ‘It’s really funny that there are all these disputes about Warhol prints. Apparently his assistants carried on knocking out prints long after he was dead. But I think he would have loved that; it would have been a bit of a contradiction if he was precious about limited editions. At the end of the day, it shouldn’t matter; you should buy something because you like it.’

A further caveat to those planning their pension via their ultra-rare vinyl toys and trainer collection comes from a spokesman for Christie’s auction house: ‘While the market for collectables is much more accessible than it used to be, there still needs to be an association with a sports star or celebrity. So while Geoff Hurst’s ’66 shirt will come in at £19,000, you could easily pick up the boots that Steven Gerrard wore at the 5-1 win over Germany for £500. At the moment, a pair of trainers wouldn’t make it to auction on merit alone. It’s very difficult to predict what will be of value say 20 years from now. Having said that, people collect Art Nouveau and Art Deco pieces today, so I don’t see why rare trainers and vinyl toys couldn’t be the Lalique or Wedgwood of the future.’