Information column from British Vogue: And that's partly because vintage fashion has never been so desirable. But it's also down to the theme of the Costume Institute's 2024 exhibition – Sleeping Beauties: Reawakening Fashion – for which curator Andrew Bolton has deployed the wizardry of modern technology to reawaken historic pieces from the past four centuries.
Babe, wake up, vintage clothing is having a revival. But why, given the exhibition's 400-year time span, were we only seeing looks being pulled from the last three decades? Don't get me wrong: as a vintage devotee, I love a '90s/Noughties throwback. One day, I'm a sultry Italian mama in '90s Dolce... and the next I'm a frisky woodland nymph in Y2K Cavalli (RIP). But nothing beats the drama of a ravaged drop-waist dress from the 1920s – one that leaves a trail of sequins in your wake.
Or the old-world glamour of a champagne-hued bias-cut gown from the '30s. One person who understands this better than anyone is supermodel and undisputed queen of vintage fashion Kate Moss, who chose a '30s cobweb lace number to ring in the milestone of her 50th birthday in Paris earlier this year. Alexa Chung is another fashion plate to have successfully harnessed the power of early 20th-century fashion. Nestled amongst her wardrobe of perfectly-cut jeans and oversized men's jackets is a growing contingent of sugar-spun sheer slips... like the one she recently wore on a Maldivian holiday . "I love '30s dresses mainly because their cut is flattering on my figure," says Chung.
"The fabrics are more sumptuous, the dresses drape beautifully." But, for Chung, the appeal of a frothy organza maxi goes beyond mere cut and fabric, to what the dress actually represents, to those ⁙⁙⁙d stories that have been stitched into them after years of perpetual wear and tear. "I love the romance of a vintage find and that you're borrowing something from another time, "but also I am drawn to the idea of owning something nobody else has," "which is obviously increasingly difficult at a time when vintage has become so desirable."
Babe, wake up, vintage clothing is having a revival. But why, given the exhibition's 400-year time span, were we only seeing looks being pulled from the last three decades? Don't get me wrong: as a vintage devotee, I love a '90s/Noughties throwback. One day, I'm a sultry Italian mama in '90s Dolce... and the next I'm a frisky woodland nymph in Y2K Cavalli (RIP). But nothing beats the drama of a ravaged drop-waist dress from the 1920s – one that leaves a trail of sequins in your wake.
Or the old-world glamour of a champagne-hued bias-cut gown from the '30s. One person who understands this better than anyone is supermodel and undisputed queen of vintage fashion Kate Moss, who chose a '30s cobweb lace number to ring in the milestone of her 50th birthday in Paris earlier this year. Alexa Chung is another fashion plate to have successfully harnessed the power of early 20th-century fashion. Nestled amongst her wardrobe of perfectly-cut jeans and oversized men's jackets is a growing contingent of sugar-spun sheer slips... like the one she recently wore on a Maldivian holiday . "I love '30s dresses mainly because their cut is flattering on my figure," says Chung.
"The fabrics are more sumptuous, the dresses drape beautifully." But, for Chung, the appeal of a frothy organza maxi goes beyond mere cut and fabric, to what the dress actually represents, to those ⁙⁙⁙d stories that have been stitched into them after years of perpetual wear and tear. "I love the romance of a vintage find and that you're borrowing something from another time, "but also I am drawn to the idea of owning something nobody else has," "which is obviously increasingly difficult at a time when vintage has become so desirable."
More details: See hereThis Vintage Lover Is Calling Time On The '90s Fashion Obsession
- Vintage fashion has never been so desirable. - The Costume Institute's 2024 exhibition, "Sleeping Beauties: Reawakening Fashion," reawaken historic pieces from the past four centuries. - Supermodel Kate Moss chooses a '30s cobweb lace number to ring in the milestone of her 50th birthday in Paris earlier this year. - The appeal of a frothy organza maxi goes beyond mere cut and fabric, to what the dress actually represents.
In fact, never has pre-loved clothing ruled the red carpet in the way that it did this year. And that's partly because vintage fashion has never been so desirable. But it's also down to the theme of the Costume Institute's 2024 exhibition – Sleeping Beauties: Reawakening Fashion – for which curator Andrew Bolton has deployed the wizardry of modern technology to reawaken historic pieces from the past four centuries.
Babe, wake up, vintage clothing is having a revival. But why, given the exhibition's 400-year time span, were we only seeing looks being pulled from the last three decades? Don't get me wrong: as a vintage devotee , I love a '90s/Noughties throwback. One day, I'm a sultry Italian mama in '90s Dolce, and the next I'm a frisky woodland nymph in Y2K Cavalli (RIP). But nothing beats the drama of a ravaged drop-waist dress from the 1920s – one that leaves a trail of sequins in your wake.
Or the old-world glamour of a champagne-hued bias-cut gown from the '30s. One person who understands this better than anyone is supermodel and undisputed queen of vintage fashion Kate Moss, who chose a '30s cobweb lace number to ring in the milestone of her 50th birthday in Paris earlier this year.
