There is one fashion lesson we can all learn from Kim Kardashian
This week, Kim Kardashian’s bottom has- not for the first time- been the subject of worldwide attention. Unsurprisingly perhaps, given she was in Mexico wearing a pair of high-cut bikini briefs which left few of her infamous curves to the imagination. You could be forgiven for assuming that there is little we can take away from this episode, fashion-wise, but raise your eyes to Kardashian’s crop-top.
The 1980s Dolce and Gabbana grey t-shirt, which is laced and artfully tied at the midriff, was sourced for Kardashian by her stylist Avigail Claire from Open for Vintage, an online destination which is bringing an easy and luxurious spin to vintage shopping.
This wasn’t the first occasion that Kardashian has turned to pieces sourced from Open for Vintage to create one of her signature impactful fashion moments. Back in February, she chose a sumptuous midi-lengt Escada velvet skirt for a Valentine’s night out with Kanye. Later that week, she stepped out in LA wearing a Yeezy bomber jacket (her husband’s fashion collection) accessorised with Valentino sunglasses, from Open for Vintage’s selection.
Amazingly, this isn’t all some kind of guerilla advertising campaign for Open for Vintage, but the results of Claire and Kardashian’s genuine dedication to shopping for original additions to the latter’s wardrobe. “Kim’s stylist just called us one day,” says Sarah Byrne, one of Open for Vintage’s founders. “It’s incredible because she doesn’t expect to be gifted- I have so much respect for that.”
Once Claire had made a selection for Kardashian, Open for Vintage dispatched them to her with the expectation that it would be months before she wore anything- after all, her wardrobe is famously vast.
In fact, almost within hours, Kardashian sported that Escada skirt and the effect was instant. “Our traffic went from good, organic and solid to off-the-scale,” remembers Byrne. “There was a hundred-fold increase in traffic from around the world. You really can’t buy this kind of opportunity.”
While Byrne is a long-term devotee of vintage- her fascination began as a child, watching her father who was passionate about conservation and antiques at work- she does understand that it can be a confusing foray for many of us, often sparking a fear that by wearing vintage, we’ll look dated. Never mind the faff of trying to find the perfect piece in the first place.
“Sometimes people can be afraid of vintage, but I think Kim shows how to wear it in a very modern way,” Byrne says. “It’s all about how you put it together, then it’s not dated.”
“I think we have a new and unique medium because you can filter by decade and by designer,” she continues, emphasising that the Open for Vintage concept, which launched in 2015, is all about making vintage shopping as easy as ‘normal’ shopping. “We have a huge variety of sellers, from a 70 year-old jewellery dealer who usually sells at Covent Garden market to more traditional vintage stores,” she adds of the site’s eclectic sources.
Kardashian may have worn her Escada skirt with a crop top and padded jacket, and her Valentino sunglasses with an oversized coat, corset and tracksuit bottoms- pairings which are perhaps unrealistic/ impractical to mere mortals, fun as they are to look at- but Byrne’s argument still stands; it’s all about taking a brilliant piece from another time and reinventing it in your own way for now.