Vintage clothes have long inspired designers the world over, but it is London that has catapulted cheap chic into the mainstream. If the New York fashion scene is about global brands and big budgets, and Paris’s designers excel at couture, it is recycled antiques and creativity that make London shine. “The Brits have always had a much more bohemian approach to fashion,” says Bronwyn Cosgrave, associate editor at British Vogue. “They’re more willing [than Americans] to push the boat out and make things interesting.”
In part, it’s because they have nothing to lose. Alexander McQueen, who won the Designer of the Year award last week, criticized the government for failing to give young designers the financial support they need. Without big brands or hefty backing, however, London designers can take risks that their American or French colleagues wouldn’t dream of. The esthetic trickles down from the fashion houses to the streets. “Everyone can wear whatever they want here,” says Aline Kermorvant, a Parisian teacher hunting through secondhand racks on Portobello Road, the market in northwest London selling everything from boas to kiwis. “In Paris, you have to keep a certain style, so as not to shock.”
There’s a reverse snobbery at work with London’s vintage vogue. In part, it’s a response to increasingly dominant standard-issue clothing from American chain stores like the Gap. Vintage duds may be second-hand, but they’re rare and typically made from higher-quality fabrics.
Ironically, it’s America that’s become a crucial source for many of London’s vintage shops. The country’s throwaway culture, combined with tax breaks, creates huge stocks of secondhand clothes, especially in the Midwest. London dealers tend to make several trips a year to the United States or Canada, or hire buyers who comb charity shops and garage sales for secondhand stock. But if the United States provides the raw materials, it’s the British who provide panache. Says Sage: “I’ve used fabrics that are older than America itself.” Dry-clean only, we’d reckon.
