Is old fashion cooler? Potentially.
While Archival looks on red carpets are not new (pun intended),especially in the Law Roach and Zendaya partnership, in the recent slew of red carpets with award season and the Dune 2 press tour, there has certainly been a rise in the number of stylists pulling from historical collections. While it is obviously enjoyable seeing Zendaya clunk down the red carpet in Mugler Autumn 1995’s robot suit, it does beg the question; Is modern fashion too boring?
When looking at Mugler specifically, this red-carpet season has seen more from the brand's archives than from their current collections. As well as Zendaya, Margot Robbie sported a corset from the brand's 1996 collection to the vanity fair after party, as well as Laverne cox wearing a gown from the 1986 winter collection to the Emmy's. Meanwhile, Mugler’s spring 2024 collection only appeared once, a sculptural gown on Anitta for the Premio Lo Nuestro carpet. Casey Cadwallader will regularly take, perhaps too much, inspiration from eponymous designer Thierry Mugler, yet he has added a contemporary twist to the brand. However, it appears this twist is less popular among stylists, starting a conversation about how well designers are continuing legacies at houses they did not found.
Sean McGirr’s debut at Alexander McQueen was heavily criticised after he attempted to add his own touch to the brand, with this supporting the theory that, in the words of Joseline, ‘nobody is better than the original’. However, to say that stylist are preferring the archives because they prefer the original designers, is a stretch. If this was the case, we would have seen the vintage trend a long time ago.
When considering the stylists themselves, it’s important to consider that archival looks often pull more media attention, especially if they featured in an iconic past collection. It could be argued that the rise in archival looks is actually down to stylists taking advantage of social media sensation. Daniel Roseberry’s viral Spring 2023 couture collection which featured a lion head clad Kylie Jenner and Bedazzled Doja Cat was the first time a fashion show went viral on TikTok, transcending the fashion community.The moment may have induced a new trend of stylists looking for virality, which is much easier to achieve when using legendary historical references.
Marco D’Angelo, founder of platform PR, told Vogue that ‘Vintage is the last unit of measurement of a flex for a stylist’, meaning that a stylist has to work their way up before requesting such pieces from a brand.However, while some brands, including Mugler, have an extensive house archive, for other brands, stylists must source from vintage sellers. Regardless, to source archival garments is much harder than new off the runway, and therefore acts as an indicator of a ‘good’ stylist.
While the rise red carpet call back looks is most probably caused by stylists aiming to speed up their career progression, it can be said that the absolute boom in vintage is also influenced by a slightly underwhelming past few fashion months. Perhaps owing to the insane amount of creative director mobility between brands as of late resulting in a lack of stability within fashion houses, or the recession leading to lower budgets, fashion has been less innovative.
All in all, the rise in archival looks on recent red carpets appears to be down to the rise of fashion’s virality on social media in conjunction with widespread changes in creative direction across fashion houses, resulting in less exciting fashion from a lot of brands. However, if stylists continue to experiment with vintage pulls, red carpets could become very interesting.
