In an age flooded with fast fashion, the gap between the mass and niche market for luxury apparel seems wider than ever. Vintage luxury platforms like Vestiaire Collective form the middle ground and touchstone for the seemingly inaccessible. The appeal of luxury apparel is not lost through ownership; rather, its brand cache, quality and rarity make it covetable to a spectrum of savvy consumers that sit just outside the direct luxury market. Farfetch.com recognises the finite difference, aligning designer labels alongside the vintage in separate offerings of luxury. Olivia Lila Lahood launches the genre into new territory, offering a user experience akin to the finest gallery. Suddenly, curated pieces captured in evocative photography make vintage luxury look good as new.
The eponymous store is the brainchild of stylist Olivia Lahood. This fashion entrepreneur hails from the Fashion Design Studio at the TAFE Sydney Institute which produced trailblazers the likes of Alex Perry, Dion Lee and Christopher Esber, the latter of whom Lahood trained under. In this breakout move Lahood brings her stylists eye to the online retail platform for vintage luxury and designer goods. Each piece has been carefully curated to file in with Lahood’s penchant for paired back elegance that incorporates sumptuous fabric into silhouettes ranging from oversized comfort to slim line slips. In an exclusive interview with FIB Olivia shares why vintage was her calling:
“I’ve always loved looking for vintage pieces. It’s never really been about the label. I look for quality and design. Working in fashion I’ve always admired and had an appreciation for luxury fashion and like to mix these pieces back with vintage finds. To me – this is how real women dress, it’s relatable. I wanted to create a space that could translate this easily for women”.
The edit is sophisticated and respectful to the heritage and preservation of design dropping unknown names alongside the familiar, from a Celine LBD to a Thierry Mugler bustier over plain tee and jeans – it’s relaxed luxury for modern day living . Photographer Vladimir Mendigorin captured model Ola Zieminska from Chic Management for the current collection. The emphasis on simplicity to shine light on the beauty of the individual pieces is executed seamlessly against the models natural and wistful state, bringing a sense of romance back to the retail end beyond the ‘here is the front, side and back’ formula for online sales. The exercise would surely receive the tick of approval from author and philosopher Dominque Loreau, who teaches us to live more with less, albeit beautifully. The sites imagery manages to encapsulate the lifestyle from Loreau’s musings in L’art de la Simplicite with the focus on imbuing reverence into utility.
“Many people collect objects, but few cultivate the spirit”
Dominque Loreau, L’art de la Simplicite
Take this silk cable knit (designer unknown) styled over naked legs, black pumps and tucked in hair – a relaxed look one might wear at home, but against the white walls and polished concrete it has the framework of a Francis Bacon classic. The difference with shopping Vintage Luxury versus buying direct is in the diversity and often exclusivity of the product. Items that were once sold out can come up for auction like a fine piece of art, an heirloom for the next generation.
With the market expanding on Vintage Luxury, sites like these help us tell the moth balls apart from the investments. They minimise the environmental impact of clothes ending up in landfill by their reuse, and offer something new from the old. Apart from that, the history of these pieces are enriched with the stories of its lifecycle from the designer to craftsman, and even wearer to wearer – adding dimension to one’s wardrobe and style choices. By investing in the past, it does not undermine the value of new luxury – in sharp contrast it ensures its future, people can buy new and take comfort in its ability to retain market value beyond its initial use making extravagant investments exactly that.
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