As “heritage” continues to obsess the industry, the fashion archive is becoming highly prized. Brands are pouring resources into building museums in which to house their collections, while canny young designers are buying back garments from clients, or bidding against collectors and museums to retrieve rare vintage pieces with which to build their own.
Many brands are now using their archives to produce exhibitions as a way of extending their brand message. The Fondation Pierre Bergé — Yves Saint Laurent will open two museums in autumn 2017, in Paris and Marrakesh, to celebrate the work of its founder, Yves Saint Laurent. The Gucci Museum, which opened in Florence in 2011, recently announced acquisitions from Tom Ford’s era at the house. The Missoni archive is on display at the Fashion and Textile Museum in London (until September 4).
“There’s a dawning realisation that if you want to be a so-called heritage brand, you have to be able to tell the story through objects,” explains Sonnet Stanfill, fashion curator at the Victoria and Albert Museum. “An archive can be useful for design inspiration, for lending to an exhibition, or for if you think you’d want to do your own retrospective.”