We called them at the time rag dealers — big warehouses where they shipped old clothes mostly to places like Nigeria and Afghanistan. You’d give the foreman a bottle of cognac as a gift and they’d give us shears to use to open any bale in these five-floor warehouses … They were selling it for pennies a pound. We’d load up my Volkswagen. We called it ‘carefully selected dead man’s clothing.’
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TV dinner. "Dining at The Video Room," photographed at Lutece, Mademoiselle 1963.
(George Barkentin/Condé Nast Collection/Getty Images)
Monday - November 27, 2017 Mon - 11/27/17
rantnrave:// The evolution of vintage clothing never ceases to amaze me. This story by ADA CALHOUN explores the vintage clothing scene in NYC's EAST VILLAGE through memories and first-hand accounts from store owners and others who lived it. It's a great picture of a cultural moment—one that's continually reinvented in band tees, military surplus, selvedge denim, and ballgowns. The stigma surrounding secondhand clothing has all but faded into a distant past. New clothes might be given a vintage look, with manufacturing innovations made to laser-distress your jeans or pummel them inside an industrial rock tumbler. Old clothes might fare better after decades than new ones after mere months. Leasing, trading, and consigning are hyped retail concepts today—the fact that someone else wore the clothes before you has become a founding principle for many businesses. So wearing secondhand clothing isn't the act of radicalism it once was—kids must find other things sure to enrage their parents in 2017. Yet the visible wear-and-tear on clothing holds different meanings. For vintage enthusiasts, fade patterns on denim or frayed cuffs on a military jacket may be prized markers of a garment that's been worn down over time—the memories are someone else's, the marks unique. I'm reminded of the chapter "Marx's Coat," by PETER STALLYBRASS, which is a wonderful look at the meaning of clothing in the personal life and work of KARL MARX. It's much less about the controversial aspects of Marx's work and much more a view of clothing's connection to a sense of self. And it's a compassionate view of Marx's (and many nineteenth-century European families') constant need to pawn clothing in order to make ends meet. Stallybrass wrote that in the pawn shop, the objects are stripped of their memories in order to become a commodity. Yet some would return again and again to retrieve the same coat or dress. People will always have an attachment to clothing—it's fun to see what they hang on to, and what gets discovered... Briefs: A '90s platform sneaker brand revival... Locker room looks: the dopp kit as NBA fashion... When burning fast fashion is a coal alternative.
- HK Mindy Meissen, curator
lean retailing
The Cut
The Birthplace of American Vintage
by Ada Calhoun
How East Village shop Limbo made secondhand clothes cool.
The Washington Post
Joseph Abboud’s suits aren’t hip, but they’re made in America. Can that make them cool?
by Robin Givhan
It’s not easy to craft high-end clothing in the United States, but one designer managed to build an empire in his native New England.
The New York Times
The Politics of Luxury
by Vanessa Friedman
Recent geopolitical events are forcing luxury leaders to re-evaluate brand strategies and values. Jean-Marc Loubier, Delvaux Executive Chairman, Geoffroy de La Bourdonnaye, Chloé C.E.O. and Jonathan Akeroyd, Gianni Versace C.E.O. spoke with Vanessa Friedman, Fashion Director and Chief Fashion Critic at The New York Times's International Luxury Conference.
Fast Company
The Future Of Retail In The Age Of Amazon
by Austin Carr
As Jeff Bezos’s juggernaut continues to grow, forward-thinking competitors are finding creative ways to succeed-and be what Amazon can never be.
The Globe and Mail
Royal Ontario Museum celebrates the legendary Christian Dior fashion house
by Jeanne Beker
The ROM's Dr. Alexandra Palmer says the upcoming exhibition is also a nod to the women who wore Dior creations
The Business of Fashion
Paolo Roversi: 'Photography Is the Revelation of Another Dimension'
by Angelo Flaccavento
The legendary Italian lensman speaks to BoF about the poetry of his work, the power of the primitive photographic process and the importance of slowness.
DuJour
Inside "A Tribute to James Galanos" at Phoenix Art Museum
by David Nash
A comprehensive museum exhibition celebrates the legacy of James Galanos, the iconic contemporary American fashion designer.
Fashionista
'GQ' and 'GQ Style' Had a Banner Year in Terms of Diversity
by Mikelle Street
The Condé Nast titles featured the likes of Mahershala Ali, LeBron James, John Boyega and Colin Kaepernick on their covers in 2017, setting a high bar on the inclusivity front.
Dazed Digital
David LaChapelle looks back on his exceptional career
by Ana Kinsella
As he releases two new volumes of work, we meet the man who turned celebrity photography into an art form.
i-D Magazine
how hot topic became america’s outsider teen haven
by Alice Newell-Hanson
While malls across the US are closing, alternative-kid retail mecca Hot Topic is growing, and offering community to outsiders in uncertain times.
pickers
The New York Times
Toward a New Language of Luxury
by Vanessa Friedman
Presentation by William McDonough, C.E.O., McDonough Innovation and Co-Author, "Cradle to Cradle," at The New York Times's International Luxury Conference, followed by a conversation with Vanessa Friedman, Fashion Director and Chief Fashion Critic.
South China Morning Post
Not so picture perfect: the plight of foreign models working in China
by Casey Hall
The recent death of a 14-year-old Russian model shone a spotlight on the Chinese industry. A multilayered agency system, partying culture and transient population make China a risky proposition for aspiring overseas models.
Wired
The Fashion App Founder With a Pocket Full of Visas
by Scott Rosenberg
Purva Gupta has spent the past four years launching her startup, Lily-and chasing down five visas and a green card.
British Vogue
Halpern And Theo Adams Bring Avant-Garde Fashion Performance Art To Annabel’s
by Anders Christian Madsen
The young designer and performance art wonder took subversive glamour to new levels as they staged the last-ever salon show at the old Annabel’s in Mayfair.
WWD
Chanel and Pharrell Williams Drop World’s Most Exclusive Sneakers
by Joelle Diderich
In an interview with WWD, the “Happy” singer predicted the resale value of the shoes could reach $40,000.
Toronto Star
Christian Dior’s postwar golden age comes to the ROM
by Leanne Delap and
Eighty-pound outfits, 40-foot hems: exhibit traces how iconic designer’s 1947 to ’57 eleganza affected women’s lives after the war.
Apparel News
Los Angeles Denim Factories Are Struggling to Stay Alive
by Deborah Belgum
Los Angeles has always been the epicenter for manufacturing blue jeans in the United States. Major labels such as True Religion, Lucky Brand, Hudson and 7 For All Mankind built their reputations on that “Made in the USA” cachet, which signaled quality and prestige in their premium-denim products.
SURFACE
Can the Japanese Fine-Watchmaking Brand Grand Seiko Outdo Its Swiss Counterparts?
by Spencer Bailey
Seiko Watch Corporation president, COO, and CMO Shuji Takahashi is doubling down to bring the high-end line to the American market.
South China Morning Post
Top Paris hotels are combining shopping and art to boost revenue
by Lily Templeton
Concept stores at the Hotel de Crillon, Ritz Paris and Royal Monceau are changing the luxury hospitality industry as wealthy travellers look for more ways of enjoying their stay - by spending more money
JSTOR Daily
A Puritan War on Wigs
by Livia Gershon
In colonial New England, moral quandaries were everywhere. A surprisingly big one in the 17th and 18th century was whether it was okay to wear a wig.
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