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.’ | | | | TV dinner. "Dining at The Video Room," photographed at Lutece, Mademoiselle 1963.
(George Barkentin/Condé Nast Collection/Getty Images) | | | | | | “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.’”
|
| |
| | 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 |
|
|
| How East Village shop Limbo made secondhand clothes cool. | | |
|
| 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. | | |
|
| 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. | | |
|
| 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 ROM's Dr. Alexandra Palmer says the upcoming exhibition is also a nod to the women who wore Dior creations | | |
|
| 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. | | |
|
| A comprehensive museum exhibition celebrates the legacy of James Galanos, the iconic contemporary American fashion designer. | | |
|
| 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. | | |
|
| As he releases two new volumes of work, we meet the man who turned celebrity photography into an art form. | | |
|
| While malls across the US are closing, alternative-kid retail mecca Hot Topic is growing, and offering community to outsiders in uncertain times. | | |
|
| 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. | | |
|
| 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. | | |
|
| Purva Gupta has spent the past four years launching her startup, Lily-and chasing down five visas and a green card. | | |
|
| 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. | | |
|
| In an interview with WWD, the “Happy” singer predicted the resale value of the shoes could reach $40,000. | | |
|
| Eighty-pound outfits, 40-foot hems: exhibit traces how iconic designer’s 1947 to ’57 eleganza affected women’s lives after the war. | | |
|
| 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. | | |
|
| Seiko Watch Corporation president, COO, and CMO Shuji Takahashi is doubling down to bring the high-end line to the American market. | | |
|
| 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 | | |
|
| 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. | | |
|
| | | | | Cool Million feat. Eugene Wilde |
| | | | |
|
|
| © Copyright 2017, The REDEF Group |
|
|
