Today I read an article in Fantastic Man about vintage, 'THE VINTAGE HUNT' by CHARLIE PORTNER. It was one of the best written articles I've ever read in any publication, be it The New Yorker, or newspapers or any fashion magazine. In a time when vintage has and will increasingly play such an important role in the world of fashion, this article has allowed me to look at vintage in a different light. Probably more bad than good, but I don't know. And raised a few interesting points about vintage that I would like to share with you.

In Singapore, we have hardly any vintage clothing stores. Once in a while, we will have a few flea markets a year, held for a maximum of two to three days at most, selling mostly secondhand garments, handmade accessories and jewelry or simply clothes that were bought on impulse or couldn't fit the body anymore. Our Salvation Army shouldn't even be called a thrift store, I don't think it is even worthy of that name. Yes, the items there are cheap, but the quality and the variety of clothes....let's just say that the prices are the only thing that can excite one. The closest we are to vintage, are usually of stores in Haji Lane (somewhat a street in Singapore that carries 'indie' labels and fashion, I guess that's how you can put it) that sources for clothes overseas (Australia, Bangkok, Korea perhaps) and prices are definitely not as affordable as vintage in places where I guess, vintage is pretty common. Blog-shops perhaps are the only way of getting vintage here in Singapore, but as to how authentic they are, it is still pretty doubtful. Overall, vintage is lacking in Singapore, probably due to our lack of history of fashion, if you get what I mean. And whatever vintage that comes out of shops here are probably recreations, and are as young as your baby nephew. Or your yet to be born child. I do not kid. (OMG, I LOVE THE PUNS I'M MAKING.)

Whenever I bring up the idea to my parents of wanting to go on a vintage shopping trip, my mom would always say that these vintage are essentially the clothes of the dead. I rephrase, I mean the reason that these clothes are being sold because their owners are dead and not literally, what dead people wear or what grave-hunters dig out of the coffins. Ok, I was jokin' about the second part. Being the pesky naggy mother who would never approve of wild shopping frenzies, she would always disprove me of buying vintage, giving the excuse that well, spirits live in those clothes. (Oh I love the superstitious grandmother stories. Shall we start on that?) The thing is, that there could be some truth to this. Am I freaking you out already? Ok maybe I am, I don't know much about the part of spirits haunting, but somehow the tickling of your skin when wearing vintage MAY not be the works of ghosts but could well be that of fleas that once belong to a basement of an abandoned house. Of a dead man.

"Before vintage became part of the modern fashion lexicon, it used to be all mothballs and thrift. Now the four-figure outfits are often "inspired" by flea-market finds, the fashion industry is increasingly reliant on vintage dealer to keep coming up with old good. It's a world full of secrets. Which designers are borrowing what? Why? And where do vintage dealers get those clothes in the first place?"

The article follows a vintage dealer on a vintage hunt. On a Saturday morning in an American suburb, a queue is trying to form outside the house of a dead person, in which the vintage dealer, Cesar is sourcing to expand his inventory. Come 8am, the door swings open and the organizer of the sale ushers in the queue, "Let's get this over with, let's get this over with." This is what is known as a tag sale-all of the junk in the house can be bought; the house is open to anyone to pull it apart. These tag sales are the bread and butter for vintage dealers like Cesar. Anything that can be found in this house are for sale. But to a vintage dealer, usually such sales are not exactly treasure troves brimming full of good vintage finds. It really depends on what the late owner has and the ability of the dealer to know where the best items are hidden at; most people usually go to the basement to sniff out good bargains but for vintage dealers, common sense says, THE BEDROOM.

We often think that these items that are sourced out by these dealers are meant to be sold to us common folks. However, it is not a widely known fact that some of these clothes are not up for sale to the public. Cesar with his partner operates CHERRY, a New York vintage store, as well as what they call the CHERRY RESOURCE CENTER, an appointment-only warehouse from which stylists borrow for shoots, costume designers borrow for films and more lucratively, designers rent or buy what they call as 'inspiration'. Cesar says in the article that he can walk through a department store and recognize many of the new garments on sale as being sourced from his archive. In a way, vintage is increasingly playing a bigger role in the fashion industry: the fashion of the past is becoming the fashion of the future.

The next house Cesar goes to is an abandoned house whose owner died two years ago (I told you so), but has not been sold yet. Most of the items in this house is left untouched. Usually at such sales, there would not be any family present, but this time the men running this sale informs everyone that relatives are present. For what reason do relatives have to resort to such sales, it is not known. Many of these people visiting such sales are usually from the local neighborhood, on the search for cheap bargains. Contrary to what we think, vintage dealers that are present at such sales are few and far between. Few are interested in clothing during such sales, and even if they are, what these locals are looking for, are very different from what the dealers have in mind. Items at these sales usually go for a dollar, nothing too extravagant, after all it is still the belongings of the dead. The surprising (and scary) truth is that, after trading hands, the value of these items can sky-rocket up into the hundreds. Cesar pulls out a stained canvas satchel with a yellowed rubber lining. It probably had been previously used for fishing, no doubt sold at a dollar at such sales and attached to it is a CHERRY store tag of its new retail price: $200.

I'm speechless.

(I guess it's true that vintage is from the dead. I guess that's why we should always trust our mothers.)

"The vintage look became a global trend in the mid 90s, but before that the word had different connotations from country to country. In the United States, it mainly stood for thrift stores, in the UK it meant either cosy charity shops or tourist traps such as Camden Market. In countries like Italy, the idea of second hand clothing seemed shameful." And I personally think it is the same for Asian countries. Not that we Asian countries are on the same level of taste and luxury as Italy, we basically have this traditional mindset that anything secondhand is not as good as brand new. After all, we have the money, why resort to used items. However, this mindset is slowly eroding and influenced by Western cultures so much so that vintage and thrift seems to be a new fad. Or an 'in' thing and whoever wears vintage is part of the 'in' crowd.

Vintage has always played a significant role in high-fashion, with designers such as Miuccia Prada using vintage influences to get away from her brand's history of black nylon, Marc Jacobs at his own label and Louis Vuitton and even Nicholas Ghesquiere who openly admitted to copying a distinctive patchwork by the late designer Mr Kaisik Wong. But all of this can be attributed to Martin Margiela who was one of the first designers to use vintage as inspiration. While Martin Margiela had previously worked with flea market finds, it was only in September 1994 that he decided to take things a little further. In fact, Margiela's mindset was that, instead of imitating originals, he decided to make complete reproductions of garments. He had even put tags at the back of his clothes to inform people that his were reproductions of old garments. "I think I always look forward. But it's a nice feeling for myself to go forward by looking backward." Margiela told Miss Suzy Menkes before he became reclusive to the media.

Vintage as Inspiration, or that's what they call it:

Balenciaga Spring 2002 Collection and Mr Kaisik Wong's 1970s creation. Note the similarity in patchwork, and the lines.

On the left is Nicolas Ghesquiere's work for Balenciaga's Resort 2010 collection. On the right however, is a "Parrot" Jacket made by East West Musical Instruments, a San Francisco leather goods company that operated in the 60s through the 70s. For greater details, please look here.

There are similar 'resource centers' similar to CHERRY around the world (usually in fashion capitals, where designers are based in). London has RELLIK, famous for its Vivienne Westwood archives and Los Angeles has DECADES, famous for its wonderful vintage glamorous designer pieces. (Recently, Kristin Davis of Sex and The City fame wore a Jean Patou Haute Couture by Christian Lacroix dress from the archives of DECADES to a premiere.) While they do operate as shop fronts, their main business is still loaning their archives to designers and stylists. It is said that some houses take vintage research so seriously, that there a few who even said to X-Ray their garments to learn about their inner workings. In fact, "it's clear that pretty much every American designer make use of vintage regularly," as quoted from the article.

But having written that, it is easy to have the misconception that designers blatantly copy the clothes. It is however the craftsmanship and construction techniques that designers look out for and take reference from these vintage pieces. In a time when technology is moving at such a rapid speed, the original old-fashioned ways are replaced with high-tech machinery and mass production. These methods of creating garments are rapidly dying out. Say for example, like with denim, the old machinery no longer exists. Post Korean War, the old machinery were replaced with super-fast high-fabric-yielding machines. With vintage, it is therefore possible to see how old denim is made.

The founder of ACNE who is a client of CHERRY, says in the article, 'The thing with vintage research, you think it's going to flavour the whole collection, but usually you end up not using the pieces that they inspire. From them you end up knowing what not to do and pushing yourself further. The hard thing with copying a vintage piece is that it usually doesn't work.....It's usually from another time, which means it's not going to work today. If you really just copied these pieces, designing would be a very boring job.'

It might seem absurd that the fashion industry may use something bought for one dollar as creative inspiration for something that may hang in the rails of a high-end boutique selling at a four figure price. But on the flip-side, it is up to the designer to interpret the thoughts and efforts of years ago that went into the garment and bring it back to life. After all, we humans are mad about vintage, and are we complaining? Nostalgia definitely has a funny way with us. Or is it that maybe we just do not know how much vintage have been used to shape what we are wearing presently, or going to be in the future. The truth is, I do not see a day where vintage will stop or go out of trend. It probably will not too, given that the coats from Marc Jacobs FW10 were rethought from Marc's archives or the sweaters and satchels from H&M could be inspired from vintage finds.

Vintage is a continuous process. Who knows maybe one day, some designer from the 2100s may get inspiration from Uggs and rework it into a space-boot or something. You never know.....and I thank the heavens that I will not live to see that day.

I strongly urge everyone to get Fantastic Man and read the full article (around 4 pages of fantastic text). It is a fantastic piece of writing. Mine is only a fantastic summary of my thoughts and a small fantastic part of the whole article.

Ok that sounded real narcissistic, so please ignore that 'un-fantastic' piece of narcissism. Fantastic narcissism is best enjoyed when made subtlety. (Ok, I'm done with the use of the word 'fantastic'.)

Marni

POP Spring 2010, I see your true colours shining through.

Marni was a huge total mess this season, in a good way. There were so many similarities to so many shows, the first half had references to Prada in the 90's, the prints were somewhat similar to Comme des Garcons Spring '08, the last few looks immediately made me think of the Louis Vuitton Spring '10 show and the colors used were very Dries Fall '09. But having said that, this was in no way a copy of any of the shows. Consuelo Castiglioni had infused her own way of thinking into these clothes, which made it seem very Marni, yet somewhat different from what she had previously done. The clothes were more awkward and weird than usual, and there was that retro vibe that make them seem so disconnected with the 21st century.The show was just so weird, it was good.

THE COLOURS. The peaches, the dusty pink, turquoise green, they were strikingly beautiful. As for Marni, it is always about the prints, but this time round it was all about the perfect mix of colours. There was something about the pairing of a turquoise skirt with a brown sweater, the use of peach with dirty yellow, the mixing of oxblood red and a dusty pink on the sweater with a turquoise green skirt, a pink vest with pink feathers attached to its hem worn with long brown shorts, that added a touch of odd and awkward beauty to the otherwise simple clothes. The prints of somewhat abstract faces, were inspired by British painter, Gary Hume, but even then so, they were very much colours than geometric shapes and patterns. As with Marni and Marc Jacobs, fashion houses are going back to the very basis of luxury, simplicity. Reducing the clothes to just the fit and the colours, it was very sensual, light and freakishly good.

Missoni

POP Fall '09 It's no coincidence that both are styled by Vanessa Reid.

I love the direction Missoni is going this past few seasons. It is definitely not easy working with knits and wavy zig-zags for almost every thing they do, but Angela Missoni and Vanessa Reid has proven that they are able to raise the level of their work every time they put on a show. There was a certain free spiritedness and tribal inspiration in this collection, seen in the giant slouchy ponchos and coats that seemed to resemble rugs wrapped over the body and pieced together by a safety pin. In a good way, of course. Having say that, the Missoni we saw was a little different. It was sexy, kind of. I loved the way the knits slung off the shoulders, exposing the skin and bras. I loved the mish-mash of colours (oh colours, what have you done to me), the greys, red and pinks, the blue,oranges and white, the green, blue and red. Sublime. It is definitely not easy working with knits every time, but I don't think there's any brand elsewhere that can take something so grand-mumsy and make it so young and free-spirited and completely exhilarating every season.

Balenciaga

Balenciaga was a disappointment this season. Even though this collection was no doubt very Nicolas Ghesquiere-y; futuristic, sci-fi street-wear, I felt that it wasn't any exciting nor was it groundbreaking in terms of the ideas and concept. I have no idea why but ever since Spring 2009, the collection has gotten less and less exciting. Fall '09 and Spring '10 were still in the 'beautiful Ghesquiere' range but for Fall '10, it just plummeted down to 'Urgh, Ghesquiere trying too hard'. I do appreciate Nicolas's constant use of new materials and couture techniques, but this collection just felt that it was a lost-and-found collection from Spring,  Honestly, it was just Spring '10 done in couture techniques. The only looks I liked were the dresses and the belted jersey tops in mismatching colours, and the sweaters with 'mesh' covering on the front, those were technical works of a genius. The shoes were amazing too, with heels that looked like minerals, but Balenciaga always makes good shoes, so that would always be a staple in any of Nicolas's show.

The rest, I could not comprehend. I guess we expected more coming from a great designer like Ghesquiere who constantly pushes the boundaries but this collection was just pushed the wrong way on the opposite spectrum. The last looks (magazines-newspapers prints) were just bordering on tacky and cheap-looking despite the amazing couture shapes (that I would have to applaud). The prints were weird...but they were not Marni-weird, it was just ugly weird. This collection just felt that Nicolas was trying too hard to outdo himself and in terms of keeping his reputation as a futurstic haute couturier. Hmmm.....

Erdem

I loved this collection a lot. I loved the mixes of colours and prints that seem to resemble tainted glass windows in an old chapel, prints that resemble bubbles of a lava lamp, the slightly awkward bird appliques, against the sombre colours of the dresses. I loved the clean and simple silhouettes of the dresses, it was all very well put together. I often feel that London Fashion Week doesn't really deserve the attention it should receive, and that many designers like Erdem are underrated. Someone really needs to give this man the recognition for what he has done.

Dries Van Noten

I've always admired Dries Van Noten collections on how he can put glamour into the most relaxed form possible. It was the slouchiest grey sweatshirt over a sparkly skirt, or it was the simplicity of a pant-suit made with a careless sense of chic. Even the more intricate and precious lace and beading on a dress, was given a dose of Dries's relaxed glamour with army green sleeves. One of my favourite looks, was the pairing of the baggiest and casual sweatshirt and a long purple printed skirt. It was the new formal way of dressing and I loved it.

I can't stop myself falling in love with all the sweat-shirting in the show, it was done so right in the most perfect slouchy manner. I guess it was exactly what I want to wear when I'm having a lazy day (which means every day for these few months).

A Dries show is never easy to describe with words. I guess the best compliment I can make is that Dries did one of the very few shows that I loved everything right from the beginning to the end.

P.S. FashionGoneRogue has gotten into a technical funk this few weeks so finding editorials for the last few shows was pretty hard. Urgh.

I just fell in love with the year 2002. Now I'm regretting that I didn't know about fashion 8 years ago, I didn't know about Vogue in 2002, nor that I knew what Balenciaga was when I was 7 years old. It all happened when the very bored me was blog-surfing during Math class in school today and came across RJ's blog. There they were, these amazing photos of Vogue Paris and Balenciaga advertisements that were published in 2002. You probably won't believe this but I practically looked like this when I saw them.

And the best thing was that my teacher gave me a weird eye because all she saw was me looking like a retard staring into my pencil-box (which was hiding my iPod touch) which I use to connect to the web. I am convinced that she now thinks that I'm dumb, weird and retarded now. Anyways...

Gosh, this's got to be the most amazing cover ever by Vogue Paris, published in October 2002. Anyone wants to sell one to me?

Balenciaga Campaign for Spring Summer 2002. Why aren't today's campaigns like this? Did the person who proposed this campaign died or something, then why are the Spring Summer 2010 campaigns as crappy as the weirdo who lives across the street from you.

Balenciaga Spring Summer 2002 campaign. LOVES. And just realised that Balenciaga has got amazing campaigns up until this Spring.

Maybe it's time to write a letter to Miss Roitfeld.

Pictures via RJ and TheFashionSpot

I'm very sure that 80% of Balenciaga profits goes into fabric research. They probably even have their own research and development department and this is what happens everyday:

"Now, make me a new fabric that's light as chiffon but I want it to be very structured and have plenty of volume, VOLUME!!! MOVE, MOVE, MOVE!!! I need it for the Fall collection!" Nicolas Ghesquiere comes into the room, stroking his whip in his hand and occasionally snapping it in the air, producing a loud "ktsh, ktsh, wtshh" sound.

"This is not couture, for God's sake. Am I really asking too much? Am I reaching for the stars here? Not really. If Alexander McQueen can produce a Spring 2010 collection that got Anna wanting for more, I honestly don't seem why I can't. He has these aliens from the planet of "IHateFashion" to work for him and if you people can't produce a new fabric every hour, I'm gonna have to employ the Oompa-Loompas." Nicolas Ghequiere cracks the whip for the hundred thousandth time. (Yes, there are actually workers who are quietly counting the number of times he cracks the whips).

"And you," Nicolas Ghesquiere points to a meek old lady in the far corner knitting a jersey for his Fall Collection, "I said that I did not want cashmere for that sweater. Cashmere is so Jil Sander-ish. Make that jersey in a new fabric, something soft like chiffon, and thick like mohair."

"But...."

"Darling, you don't work for Angela Missoni anymore. You won't find any hint of love here. Nor will you be expecting me to invite you over for dinner, my dear."

"Lilo let's be serious. You are not trying. You are whining. What is that you want me to say to you, huh? Do you want me to say, "Poor you. Nicolas is picking on you. Poor you. Poor Lilo?" Wake up. I'm just doing my job. Don't you know that you are working at the place that published some of the greatest artists of the century? Ungaro, Givenchy, de la Renta. And what they did, what they created was greater than are because you live your life in it. Well, not you, obviously, but some people. You think this is just another dumb old fashion house, hmm? This is not just any other fashion house. This is a shining beacon of hope for... oh, I don't know...let's say a young boy growing up in Loudon, a small town in France with six brothers pretending to go for fencing practices when he was really going to sewing classes and reading Vogue Paris under the covers at night with a flashlight. You have no idea how many legends have walked these halls. And what's worse, you don't care. Because this place, where so many designers at Central Saint Martins would die to work you only deign to work. And you want to know why I don't kiss you on the forehead, give you a gold star on your homework at the end of the day and offer you a 50% off Balenciaga merchandise. Wake up, sweetheart.

"Now why did that sound so familiar." Lilo mumbles under her breath.

"You low, miserable fools had better invent a new fabric by twelve midnight. And be thankful that you are not working for Karl. Do you know how many Chanel 2.55s they have to sell, just to cover the law charges against them over the deaths of their workers. And no, they don't just die of overworking." Nicolas Ghesquiere walks across the room, with the ominous-looking whip brushing against the faces of the workers as he walks past.

The End. (This story is just my fantasy going wild and it's mainly for humour.) I still love Balenciaga and Nicolas Ghequiere.

What was suppose to be a review turned out into a long boring story. I think I'll save the review for later.

This is in no way a post about 'ooh, it's already ten years. It's time to reminisce about the past." Anyway isn't it a little too late to do it now.

1st row:

Spring Summer 2000: Dolman sleeves, sack dresses, slim pleated pants.

Fall Winter 2000: It was the 80's reinvented, but constructed without any hint of the past.

Spring Summer 2001: Pleated, ruffled, embroidered. Cut, twisted and manipulated in the most craziest way possible.

2nd row:

Fall Winter 2001: It was not just a Nicolas Ghesquiere for Balenciaga show, it was a show by a designer that was heralded as fashion's new big thing. Impeccably executed designs, amazing workmanship, it was nothing short of being the most watched show of the season.

Spring Summer 2002: Patchwork microdresses and jackets.

Fall Winter 2002: A mix of leather, oversized knitwear, and shaggy ivory coats

3rd row:

Spring Summer 2003: Surfing(Hawaiian surfer prints never looked this good), Diving, Baseball. "When it comes to absorbing and recasting influences, Ghesquiere is fashion's champion left fielder, and that's what puts him in a different league."

Fall Winter 2003: New proportions and intriguing shapes. These are what to become Nicolas's trademark: breaking the boundaries, playing fearlessly with new volumes and fabrics. And that propelled him to the top of the fashion hierarchy in no time.

Spring Summer 2004: Gasp, where's Balenciaga's signature pants? In its place were ultra-feminine silhouettes that had a futuristic edge to it, that were enough to satisfy our desire for the missing trousers.

4th row:

Fall Winter 2004: The ever-so famous (and chic) aviator jackets, and gazar balloon skirts from the archives of Cristobal Balenciaga.

Spring Summer 2005: It was a definitely more grown-up collection but still super chic and ultra-classy.

Fall Winter 2005: "What held it all together was the synthesis of vintage couture and Ghesquiere's sci-fi obsession."

5th row:

Spring Summer 2006: Frilly illy lace

Fall Winter 2006: It was more than just equestrian, it was of crazy volumes and new proportions. Exquisite couture-like show, something only Nicolas could produce such a show. Ranks as one of my favourite-st shows at Balenciaga (but then again, I have a lot of favourite-st shows at Balenciaga).

Spring Summer 2007: 'When I was young, I would have these dreams about the future, and this was what everyone wore."

6th row:

Fall Winter 2007: Jodhpurs, blazers, scarves, and ikat prints that fueled a global industry of knockoffs. Is this the biggest compliment a designer can get?

Spring Summer 2008: "This was Balenciaga in full bloom, a splashy riot of hypergorgeous hydrangeas, pansies, peonies, daffodils and anemones. Short sharp essays in couture technique" Pure genius.

Fall Winter 2008: A nightmare gone terribly good, a dream gone terribly wrong.

7th row:

Spring Summer 2009: Sci-fi couture. Ghesquiere works without references and narratives, pushing experimentation with new fabrics and cut to perfection.

Fall Winter 2009: 'When we go for something, you know, it's quite radical. So we drape kilometers and kilometers of satin.' Nicolas Ghesquiere.

Spring Summer 2010: "That kind of work can't be replicated anywhere else but in this house, and if there's an argument for high fashion versus low, this is one of the stronger defenses that exists." Sarah Mower.