I think there's something of a division here (not in oppositional sense, really, just in that there two groups).
Call it the 'Shinki side' and the 'fit side'.
Both groups are interested in all aspects of a jacket, but each prioritizes one. The 'Shinki' side puts the right leather and construction first, with fit a lesser concern. The 'fit' side is the other way around, putting pattern and fit first.
The latter group seems to enjoy a wider variety– you'll see a $500 jacket next to a $3000 jacket.
Just my observations but I've seen pretty much this over the past few years.
Not sure this distinction counts... where do you put Himel? He uses shinki, gets good fits in general, but his construction is inferior to Japanese (as per his admission in an older thread).
I would change the general groups in "prestige" and " functional" maybe? Although I could come up with another group called "passionate".
I suspect the vintage crowd can be found in all these three categories depending on their priorities.
Off topic: Do we still exalt Shinki at all? Yes they produce nice hh leathers. So do Italian tanneries. By now we know Shinki is just a buzzword right?
I think so...
First we had CXL, then Shinki tookl over. And who knows if Badalassi will take over at some point. I guess part of us jjust like names beyond the product itself, human nature maybe?