Late last year, two pieces of news released within days of each other struck me as powerfully indicative of where we stand in fashion today. Maison Valentino announced Valentino Vintage, a programme where collectors of vintage and archival Valentino fashion could get their piece bought by select vintage boutiques after an appraisal process for a store credit.
In Phase 2, a selection of the vintage pieces would then be available for sale and crowd-sourcing, opening up archives for larger audiences. At the same time, Jean Paul Gaultier announced that 30 pieces from their archives— popular with style influencers such as Bella Hadid and Kendall Jenner—would be available to rent in addition to resale, becoming a part of their website. "Jean Paul Gaultier's archives are our goldmine," Antoine Gagey, the brand's director-general, told British Vogue. "We want to take care of them, value them, and share them with our fanbase…It is time to explore new ways of enjoying fashion: vintage, rental [and] custom."
Pre-loved clothing, vintage and archival pieces have become an important part of the discourse in the past two years
Archival pieces are more likely to rest within their client's wardrobes than with the design house
Pre-loved clothing, vintage and archival pieces, and rental fashion have become an important part of the discourse in the past two years. As we stayed at home—our wardrobes brimming with clothes that we could not wear—it also brought into focus the condition of the women and men who make our clothes, emphasizing the values of consciousness, timelessness, quality over quantity, and of re-wearing old pieces.
Sales in the second-hand market were valued at £ 3.3 billion last year. Rent the Runway, the US-based Rental fashion website went public this past October, while FarFetch debuted its Second Life programme, offering a new lease to old designer handbags. In India, second-hand marketplace Poshmark made its debut and entrepreneur Pernia Qureshi launched Saritoria, dedicated to pre-loved South Asian fashion. As weddings got more intimate, brides looked away from the big fat lehengas to re-creating meaningful looks that were a mix of heirloom, vintage pieces and styles that could be reused and re-worn for years to come.
Brides are looking at styles that could be re-worn for years to come
Archival pieces are likely to rest within the client's wardrobes than with the design house
For designers, the very nature of their past work informs their present
Pernia Qureshi's Saritoria is dedicated to pre-loved South Asian fashion
While the contemporary Indian fashion industry as we know it completes almost five decades, the system of archiving as well as the popularity of earlier Indian fashion, especially on the red carpet, is only just beginning.
And there's a practical reason for that. For most designers, archival pieces are more likely to rest within their client's wardrobes than with the design house. "We are fortunate to have an extensive archive. It stretches back to our inception and includes pieces we designed from 1986 onwards, but many of our initial works are sadly missing. We could not afford to keep sample pieces in the early days. Whatever we created, we sold. As we became more financially successful, we kept our work. It is a source of pride and a testament to our journey growth over the decades," says Sandeep Khosla, one half of designer duo Abu Sandeep.
For Tarun Tahiliani, it took the pandemic to create a more systematic, digitised archive. "I think when most Indian designers started, we were too small, and perhaps many did not see the value in documenting our own work. Of course, we have photographs but to recreate something from scratch is a lot of work. Our sketches and patterns were all over the place," he says.
Abu Jani Sandeep Khosla's long-term generational clients include Jaya Bachchan, Shweta Bachchan Nanda and daughter Navya
Pattern making wasn't necessarily a strong suit in Indian fashion and has only improved by leaps and bounds in the recent past. "Because of the sheer volume of the clothes we make, many clothes and samples have not been archived and documented. The most comprehensive archive is the embroidery swatches which we have classified to educate young designers about the heritage of this brand," he adds.
For these designers, the very nature of their past work informs their present, especially when it comes with a focus on hand-craftsmanship, textiles and classic Indian silhouettes of saris, kurtas and lehengas. "Our mission as artists and designers has never been to recreate but rather to see the old with brand new eyes. We have always championed sustainability through our work. For us, couture is the finest; it must steer clear of the transient and fickle. So yes, an AJSK is designed to be worn again and again," says Khosla, whose long-term generational clients include Jaya Bachchan, Shweta Bachchan Nanda and daughter Navya as well as Dimple Kapadia and Twinkle Khanna. They have been known to wear pieces from both the brand's archives and their mothers' closets.
Manish Malhotra, who has styled 700 films, has had a front-row seat to the cyclical nature of trends
For these designers, the very nature of their past work informs their present
Re-working dupattas or adding updated blouse styles to a lehenga or a sari is now becoming the norm
Dimple Kapadia and her daughter Twinkle and Rinke are loyal fans of Abu Jani Sandeep Khosla designs
Manish Malhotra, who just completed 31 years in the industry and has styled 700 films, has had a front-row seat to the cyclical nature of trends. The designer is in a unique position. As a part of the cultural zeitgeist, his past work for film and the runway has often impacted his present. "Although I always look ahead, I've recreated plenty," he says. "For example, Kareena Kapoor's 'Bole Chudiya' look, a parallel flared salwar, teamed up with an asymmetrical blouse, or so many other outfits from Kabhi Khushi Kabhi Gham, or the saris worn by the actors on the red carpet, there has been so much demand, over the years. My aim is to ensure my clothes, both on-screen and off, remain evergreen," says Malhotra. When he does dip into an archive, he says it's surreal to observe its contemporised form on a millennial celebrity or someone iconic as Rekha, who he says, "know how to rock redefined classics".
Sonali Bendre Behl is one actor actively promoting re-wearing pieces and vintage fashion in the public sphere. Archana Walavalkar, the creative head of beauty at Reliance who has styled her, most recently in a vintage Rohit Bal jacket, explains that with Bendre Behl, it is a collaborative process. Bendre Behl loves highlighting the stories behind her clothes, and she's very aware of what goes into each piece. "There is a strong value system of conscious fashion and celebration of craft, and she's open to mixing older pieces with more contemporary ones. So, we create a look that speaks of her individuality," says Walavalkar.
Formal Indian wear, especially at weddings, has often been the easiest and most popular way to bring in a little bit of the old. Whether it's sentimentality, the high price of these looks, the classic silhouettes, or this generation's more conscious understanding of craft and tradition—reusing elements such as upcycling old borders and swatches, re-working dupattas or adding updated blouse styles to a lehenga or a sari is now becoming the norm. "This emphasis on wearing clothes and re-wearing them is an idea that came about in 2016 with the shoot we did with long term clients Karima Burman and Aliya Modi, where we had them pair lehengas with white shirts and other pieces," says Tahiliani, reminding me about the story we did together for Vogue India. "To this end, we have a campaign called 'Love & Relove', and we tell every bride that buys a bridal lehenga how to convert that into four outfits. I have always said that bridal clothes are some of the most beautiful things that Indians can wear, so why barricade them in a trunk?"
"OUR MISSION AS ARTISTS AND DESIGNERS HAS NEVER BEEN TO RECREATE BUT RATHER TO SEE THE OLD WITH BRAND NEW EYES."Sandeep Khosla
Tahiliani is completely right. As conscious consumers, re-wear should be a priority, especially when it comes to celebratory Indian fashion. And as the ‘Designed in India’ label is gaining more ground, it's imperative that designers, especially the younger talent, have access to resources and systems that allow for their pieces to be archived. Fashion archives not only tell the story of a particular brand, but they also showcase a country’s social and cultural trajectory.