Best of the Decade: Vnyc's Vintage Predictions

This weekend we've not only be celebrating our favorite music & fashion of the past ten years, we've also been thinking about the future of this decade's fashions in terms of vintage since we are a vintage shop that also likes to highlight more contemporary creations. And with fashion moving faster then ever, it'll be no time before many of the recent collections start to make their way into the world of vintage. Again, with each of us weighing in, our future vintage predictions of what we think will work for the new decade are as follows:

Mary-Kate Olsen in 70's era Holly Harp at the 2007 CFDA Award Nominees Dinner

The idea of vintage collecting has come a long way in the past decade, becoming more acceptable, where do we think this new appreciation of vintage has come from?

AP: The idea of returning to authenticity and the self. Redefinition of values. Small/Affordable luxury. Antithesis of fast-fashion(possibly out of economic necessity). Plus owning vintage is a sign of deliberation, self-definition, with an appreciation for well-made, beautiful items in a sea of cheap banality. The green movement has also become a huge signifier.

NH: This was a revival heavy era, with wannabe-Kate Moss's everywhere you looked. Plus the recent downfall of the economy, the need for a greener world, sky-rocketing R-T-W prices, the over production of clothing, too much fast fashion poorly made, the thrill of something rare, and the idea of "personal" style being more celebrated.

Since being able to find items we missed out on from past collections is one great reason to shop vintage, what's an item from any collection of the last decade we may have missed out on but would love to get our hands on in the future?

Balenciaga's Fall 2002 Yetti Collection

AP: Anything from Nicolas Gehsquiere's Yeti collection for Balenciaga and Marc Jacob's Grunge Luxe F/W 2006 collection. Any of Alber Elbaz's dynamic jewelery at Lanvin. Margiela's shoulder padded nude bodysuit collection & Margiela artisanal finds.

NH: Anything from early Nicolas Ghesquiere at Balenciaga, esp. the Yetti & patchwork sweater collection. I really regret giving away a leather Balenciaga pea-coat from that era, but I couldn't move my hands above my chest in it.

Marc Jacobs Collection Fall 2006

Since Vnyc is a vintage outlet that looks for stand-out, well-made pieces from all era's, what do we think about the probability of collecting the decade's play on fast-fashion collaborations?

AP: I haven't really gotten enough perspective yet but I doubt anything long-term will come from it. They aren't really too well-made.

NH: I don't believe in fast-fashion as "real fashion," to me it's high-street and that means it's for the young with fleeting attention spans. You go to designers for many reasons, most importantly for quality fabric, fit and construction. You don't get these from half-baked collaborative efforts that are meant to be advertisements on both ends. And I have to say that this trend also brought on something dreadful to the entire beauty of collecting vintage. Everyday I either see a new shop or store online carrying very poorly made 80's era, what I call low-street garments. It's the Urban-Outfitterization of vintage and high-fashion in general. No matter how cool it looks at the moment, I don't ever think a K-Mart sweater from the 80's should ever cost over $10 retail, neither should say Stella for H&M.

There are many designers out there today who are known for re-appropriating past fashion's, who do we think puts the most effort into adding their own spin on ideas from the past?
Prada's Spring 2008 ad campaign

AP: Marc Jacobs is the master of re-appropriations.

NH: Miuccia Prada, she started it all.

Thinking about the future of the decade's fashions turning vintage, who are some designers of prominence in the 2000's we are placing our bets on collecting in the future?

AP: Christopher Kane, Gareth Pugh, Giles Deacon, Jason Wu, Balenciaga, Ricardo Tisci for Givenchy, Olivier Theyskens for Rochas and Nina Ricci, Christian Lacroix, Lanvin, Hedi Slimane, Marc Jacobs for Louis Vuitton, Versus by Christopher Kane, & Rodarte.

NH: Prada, Balenciaga, Alexander McQueen, John Galliano, Hussein Chalayan, Sophia Kokosalaki, Christian Lacroix, Dior by Galliano, the new London talents like Claire Tough, Louise Goldin, Marios Schwab, Meadham Kirchoff, Erdem, Christopher Kane, Haider Ackerman and of course Lanvin under Alber Elbaz.

Looking back at the decade, which vintage designers of the past do we think made the most sense sartorially for the 2000's?

Chloe Sevigny in Vintage Thierry Mugler at an awards after-party

AP: Thierry Mugler, YSL, Azzedine Alaia, Chanel, Halston, Gianni Versace, Couregges, Ossie Clark and Pierre Cardin.

NH: Azzedine Alaia, Halston, Gianni Versace & Ossie Clark.

It seems as if before the 2000's there were 15 houses to know, now there are thousands of "indie" labels, what effect could this have on the future of collecting vintage? Any "indie" brands of late we find collectible for the future?
AP: I think that the term vintage as sort of an empty signifier in the sense that while many adhere to the 30 year rule as the cut-off point, others apply the term liberally. I'm in the latter group. For instance, I consider younger labels like Sprouse, Helmut Lang , Katherine Hamnett, Christian LaCroix, YSL by Alber Elbaz, Callaghan by Ghesquiere & Perry Ellis by Marc Jacobs "vintage" because they're (of course) comprised of beautifully constructed garments by major talents that have either changed hands and/or been discontinued: these labels are prized by hardcore collectors. They've earned a place in the history of fashion and are hard to come by.
As far as indie labels today, it's impossible to tell how desirable they'll be because I don't have enough perspective. I think the oughts were about designers honing and defining their respective signatures versus reacting to universal mores like skirt lengths and waistlines. What's different, too, is that while designers stuck to their strengths, fast-fashion chains identified and capitalized micro-trends. The oughts were about the democratization of fashion, where it was once sort of an insular, incestuous industry, it finally availed itself (like it or not) to the world wide web and our culture of instant, real-time gratification. At this point, the first day of 2010, all I can say is that (maybe) as the indie labels age they might be measured in relation to what was going on in politics, culture, science, & technology. I think Jason Wu - a very young designer and label - will always be known as the creator of Michelle Obama's inaugural ball gown, Marc Jacobs for Marc collabo's with major artists, Stella McCartney for her stance on animal cruelty, Alexander McQueen for his vision, Hussein Chalayan for his experiments with technology etc. The indie darlings are too young or too limited in production/availability for me to tell. The only thing I can think of is if in twenty years they are aesthetically relevant, if they mirror the trends in 2030, and/or if they are reconsidered and/or re-appropriated by designers in 2030 . Like with Thierry Mugler, his stuff was suddenly uber desirable these past few years and knocked off all over the place.

NH: I don't think it's fair to blame big houses for stealing the spotlight just because of their over-zealous marketing efforts, alot of factors play into the game, just like a lot of factors come with collecting vintage. So if the cut, the fabric and the construction are sound, and the styles of said pieces are either classic or inventive, it just means there is alot more out there to look into. I find that more directional, less casual pieces from labels like Isabel Marant and Veronique Branquinho have a certain irresistible appeal. That being said, I do think labels with monikers like Chronicles of Never will never be taken seriously in the future.

In the future depending on it's vintage desirability, if we had to chose between being able to pick pieces from one collection of the past ten years, which would it be?Liya Kabeede at Balenciaga Fall 2002


AP: Again, Balenciaga's Yeti and patchwork series, Helmut Lang's last few collections, Alber Elbaz's first few Lanvin collections, Pheobe Philo for Chloe and Stella McCartney's shocking debut collection at Chloe.

NH: Again, any early Balenciaga collection from Ghesquiere, most notably Fall 2002, which basically paved the way for the sleek, modern citified clothes we saw everywhere throughout the following years.

With the press paying more attention than ever to fashion, do we find that any of the "It" must-haves of the past could ever be collectible/desirable in the future? Do we ever come across "It" items of the past and turn them away?

NH: It's really all relative to the desirability the item makes us feel at the moment, "It" item or not, it has to feel right for the times and be substantially well-made. I despise anything too retro, things that feel like too much of the past, so it really does depend on how right it feels at the time. That being said, I can't assume that anyone out there will or ever should want to carry something like a Dior saddle bag again, and shoes also go out of style and become easily dated within seasons. In terms of garments, the only thing that might stop us is if it's something a certain celebrity who we might not care for has worn.

Since this was a decade of a higher appreciation for all things vintage, or vintage re-appropriated, what vintage trends are we happy to take with us into the next decade and which ones are we happy to leave behind?

Palette Cleansing Minimalism as seen at Phoebe Philo's S/S 2010 debut at Celine

AP:
Take With:
Minimalism and Androgyny: Helmut Lang, Jil Sander, early Calvin Klein, & Ann D.
Americana: Early Ralph Lauren, Calvin Klein, Liz Claiborne, Norma Kamali, Mary McFadden. Late 70's & early 80's Italian Anti-Fashion: Gianni Versace, Walter Albini, Byblos, Genny, Giorgio Armani.
Avant-Garde and Deconstruction: Yohji Yamamoto, Comme Des Garcons, Margiela, Ann D.
Sixties Futurism: Pierre Cardin, Rudi Gernreich, & Couregges.
Pop: Stephen Sprouse, Body Map and the truly old school maestros like Schiaperelli, Charles Worth, Vionnet, and Cristobal Balenciaga --- really hard stuff to find.

Leave Behind:
80's Power dressing, Shoulder pads, Stevie Nick's patchwork styles, Disco for the most part, and boring St. Laurent 80's.

NH:
Take With:
Body-Con, Cut-Outs, Mostly everything of prominence from the 60's, Early Avant-Garde Designers, Early 90's/40's silhouettes(always love a peplum), Lady-Like Dressing & Minimalism.

Leave Behind:
The 80's, Pin-up Retro from head-to-toe, 70's Preppy, Glam-Punk, too Hippie, Cowboy, and 50's matronly. And the entire "kidult" effect of cartoony prints and retro childish symbolism.

90's era Body-Con, Cut-Outs & use of Leather at Givenchy S/S 2009