Archive Fashion is the Way Forward
Archive fashion sites and spots to loot now…
The hunt before the loot is thrilling,
Foraging through eBay and Vestiaire for Cavalli under £30 is a buzz in itself. One may ask, what is the point of Archive Fashion sites then?
Clothes and calories are essentially the same thing- so I will use cheese as an analogy, It is possible, and most probably cheaper, to find a nice cheese in a local supermarket. There are a few on offer, the price isn’t too steep either.
But a Fromagerie? Is a curation of solely cheeses with regard to origin and history. Perhaps you will leave a fromagerie with the name of a new Dutch cheese you had never heard of.
The same applies with vintage designer items. An archive site insights new ideas and a new appreciation for current and dormant designers,
This post will list a collection of archive sites to loot now.
The Grotesque Archive
Website: https://thegrotesquearchive.com
Instagram; https://www.instagram.com/p/C1csyHlAuiA/?img_index=1
Based: Berlin with shipping from Paris and NYC
Why should you loot this site? The Grotesque Archive is a diamond mine of wondrous avant-garde Belgian designs from the likes of A.F. Vandervorst and Dirk Bikkembergs. My favourite way an archive spot can curate? By introducing me to designers I’ve never heard of before, and hooking me on to a trench of dormant clothing pieces. Dormant designers the Grotesque Archive offer include Ann Valerie Hash and Marcel Marongiu.
Cop Me If You Can
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/copmeifyoucan/?hl=en
Based: Berlin
Why should you loot this site?: Probably the most luminous curation of Jean Paul Gaultier I’ve seen on an archive site, the assembly of patent shoes by Miuccia Prada is immense also. The vibe? Fabulous. And absolutely so, think Patsy Stone. The “office siren” except this lustrous corporate gazelle wears maximal prints and the John Galliano FW2000 cardigan pictured above- and gets blitzed at PR work lunches.
West Archive
Website: https://westarchive.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/west__archive/
Based: London
Why should you loot this archive spot?: If you shop at the West Archive, you’re probably better than me, and that’s okay, if I had £1750 idle I most likely would spend it on Chloe by Stella McCartney SS2001 Horse Trousers too. McQueen, Margiela, Miu Miu- West Archive is the Mandarin Oriental of archive spots.
Velvet Knife Archive
Website: https://velvetknife-archive.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/velvetknife.archive/?hl=en
Based: Berlin
Why loot this archive site? Velvet Knife Archive provides a stash of archive Miu Miu and Prada from the 90s and 00s and a dash of Junya Watanabe. In a similar manner to FW1999 Prada and Chloe Sevigny for Miu Miu editorials, Velvet Knife plates up wool sets, a reserved colour palette and the gloss of nylons and leather and silks for a folksy yet seamless curation.
Second Skin Archive
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/secondskinarchive/
Based: London- with worldwide shipping available
Why is this archive spot loot worthy? Second Skin Archive boasts Lily-Rose Depp and Bella Hadid as clients, which is plausible as this archive is overwhelmingly moreish. Vivienne Westwood, Fatima Lopes, Maria Chen-Pascual, Comme Des Garçons, Costume National, Plein Sud, e-Play and Xuly Bët just to name a handful. Second Skin really exhibits the magic of an archive by not simply conjuring up a selection of clothes, but a loftier appetite for fashion too.
