Examining Kim Kardashian West’s Effect on the Vintage Clothing Market

Examining Kim Kardashian West’s Effect on the Vintage Clothing Market - Vogue

Posted: 31 May 2019 10:05 AM PDT

I have a hipster complex about Kim Kardashian West and her love for archival clothes, as a die-hard lover of vintage pieces. I'd like to think my obsession began long before KKW started to step out in her admittedly stellar collection of old Gucci, Versace, Thierry Mugler, and Jean Paul Gaultier. I love the history behind those clothes. A late '90s Tom Ford–era Gucci tank still feels to me as though it has just left the nimble fingers of some Italian seamstress; a Jean Paul Gaultier Soleil top from the early '90s remains light as a feather and always flashes the right amount of subtle nipple. Plus, I get high off of the thrill of the search. I'm guilty of late-night RealReal scrolls, trying to find a Jil Sander pant with a mean front pleat or some deliciously dweeby Prada Sport sandal. I have daily eBay alerts, and I set multiple calendar reminders for auctions. Finding the perfect archive piece is like falling ferociously in love.

For several months, Kim Kardashian West has been enjoying red-hot designer relics too. At first, I got excited when she started breaking out Tom Ford–era Gucci. That slinky black dress from Spring 1998 was really a hit; the fabric smoothed over every curve, and it fit like a glove. And the 20-year-old interlocking-G thong was out of control, unabashedly hiked up her lower back! Those string things aren't cheap: They are literally selling for thousands of dollars. KKW sent me into a spiral in which I would think about that infamous Gucci thong constantly, pondering the floss like some freaky philosopher obsessed with underpinnings. Where did she source it? (Where did her assistant source it?) Was it new? Were the tags intact? Did she rent it? She resurrected a moment in fashion history for me. I even discovered that it wasn't actually a thong per se—it was originally a swimwear piece. Thanks, Kim!

It doesn't stop at Gucci. Lately, KKW has been expanding her wild world. Back in March, she stepped out in a rare Azzedine Alaïa cheetah-print bodysuit with matching little gloves, so rare that it was valued at about $10,000. It looked just as furiously hot and unbelievably bold as when it had first appeared on the Fall 1990 Couture runway. The next day I began to feel irked: KKW stepped out in a similar catsuit from the same collection, worn by none other than Naomi Campbell. Excessive? For me, yes. These are museum-worthy looks: Wearing couture Alaïa two days in a row is like hanging up a Da Vinci sketch in your living room and then getting another one to hang up in your bathroom.

Kardashian West and her over-the-top fashion tendencies aside, the KKW effect on old clothing has also gotten me paranoid. Who outbid me for that Gucci halter top that I set an alarm for at 2 a.m.? Why do all of the Jean Paul Gaultier Soleil tops seem to be sold out on The RealReal? Annoying, of course! But I am also happy about it. She's showing off a hot Versace dress worn by Naomi Campbell herself from Fall 1996 and posting the original catwalk image. Her sisters Kendall and Kourtney have hopped on the Jean Paul Gaultier train and are probably looking back at Gaultier's Spring 1994 Les Tatouages collection right here on Vogue Runway. She is showing the world just how fantastically Manfred Thierry Mugler can sculpt couture. Lest anyone forget, Kim wore two outfits to the Thierry Mugler exhibition in Montreal in late February, including an off-the-shoulder pink gown from the Fall 1999 Les Meduses couture collection and a white minidress from the Spring 1994 collection. Hell, she even worked with the designer himself for her super-cinched silicon dress for this year's Met Gala. How many times can someone get Mugler himself to make a couture dress? Well, it was his first time making a piece in conjunction with the house in more than 20 years, aside from Beyoncé's tour wardrobe in 2008.

Sure, this whole phenomenon has made the search for vintage feel more difficult, as if Kardashian West has caused a crazed domino effect on fashion fans who now all want the same things that I wanted way back when. Then again, I can't complain. I've been searching harder and still getting what I want. I recently snagged the exposed-thong Gucci skirt from Spring 1998 for a little more than $100. Like I said, I'm a skilled hunter, and the trend has only made me smarter, faster, and, yes, a far better clicker. Plus, I know a lot more about these clothes than when I first got into them. Thanks again, Kim.