WHERE THE ROW SHOPS FOR VINTAGE
The newest thing at fashion month was a vintage doily. You know the one, the lace mat your grandmother kept under every vase. There were several, actually, along with antique table linens, Victorian lace and embroidered ribbons, and all of it was at The Row. Fashion month has one job, which is to tell us what’s next, and The Row’s answer for SS27 was clear: whatever already exists.
None of this is new for the American brand. The Row has dressed its runway in vintage for years, pairing its designs with vintage jewelry from names such as Line Vautrin, as well as carefully sourced objects. The stores in New York and Paris work the same way: Comme des Garçons dresses and Anne-Marie Beretta jackets hang beside the house's own collections. In Paris, objects from the show sometimes turn up in the store afterward.
The address book behind all this is the interesting part. Marie Blanchet of Mon Vintage works closely with the house and collaborated on the Line Vautrin jewelry in last week's show. The beautifully curated Paris boutique Preclothed is another regular collaborator, with pieces appearing both on the runway and in The Row’s Paris store. This approach has also found a permanent home online through a category called ‘Galerie’, a section of The Row’s website dedicated to unique archival and vintage pieces, as well as collaborations with gallerists, architects and designers across furniture, art, objects and jewelry. The vintage clothing selections include pieces handpicked by the designers in partnership with specialists including New York/Paris-based Desert Vintage.
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The Row SS'27
When The Row put a vintage edit on its site in 2021, Mary-Kate Olsen told Vogue the approach was "very straightforward": pieces of exceptional design that fit the universe the house is building. She added that The Row has always wanted to sell its collections in settings that keep changing, with every store treated as a one-off and edited accordingly. By Vogue's account, all of it had less to do with the growing interest in vintage and pre-owned clothes—sparked by both the climate crisis and the pandemic—than with instinct.
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The Row SS'27
Fashion looking back to move forward is its oldest trick, of course. What’s unusual is a house that lets you watch it happen. The Row buys vintage garments as research for its own designs, working with dealers and sourcers around the world, and in SS27 that research sat right on the surface: architectural shapes softened into clothes that still looked practical and easy to wear, and then the linens, the lace and the doilies, someone else’s handwork stitched into next spring.
Which brings us to where all of it comes from.
Our favorite vintage addresses in Paris, and some of the Row’s:
New to our list. Located in the 6th arrondissement, Santon has a particularly strong eye for silhouette and construction, specializing in pieces mostly from the 1980s by designers such as Yohji Yamamoto, Yves Saint Laurent, Anne-Marie Beretta and Azzedine Alaïa. Jordane, one of the owners, who is lovely and can tell you exactly what makes a designer’s work from one particular era worth owning.
Originally founded in Tucson and now also based in New York and Paris, Desert Vintage is known for its highly considered mix of archival designer pieces and exceptional antique clothing. A favorite of The Row and a destination for pieces that feel relevant rather than overtly vintage.
Vintage that looks like it was made this year. Beautifully cut tailoring, minimal ‘80s and ‘90s pieces, and labels you will have to look up hanging next to Armani, Comme des Garçons and Jil Sander. One of the best in Paris.
Founded by vintage expert Marie Blanchet, Mon Vintage is less a traditional vintage shop than an extraordinary archive. Blanchet sources rare fashion and jewelry for private clients and fashion houses, including The Row, with pieces by names such as Line Vautrin, Alaïa and Margiela.
The ‘70s, ‘80s and ‘90s at full volume: Alaïa, Mugler, Claude Montana, Saint Laurent, plus names from the period that deserve to be better known. Especially good for dramatic tailoring, coats and sculptural silhouettes.
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18K diamond bead strand necklace, shorter version here or try this Tiffany & Co
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