Mon 18th March
I think I speak for everyone when I say Instagram is becoming clogged with some absolute nonsense. Shameless selfies, saturated club photos, and a bunch of people from school you feel too awkward to unfollow in case you bump into them when you make a homecoming trip. Though at the same time, we can’t seem to log off. One quick visit to the app and you’re still there, an hour later, gazing into some influencer’s rigorous routine in prepping avocado on toast.
So why not put your intensive screen time to some good use? It’s always useful to pretend you know what’s been and gone in the fashion industry. I’m guilty myself of casually dropping some Comme facts over a few scoops down the pub, like I have some Kawakubo-encyclopaedia built into my brain, when actually I just poached them from someone’s Instagram caption. To fake it till you make it, these are the fashion archive accounts that should be your go-to:
@Godzdntdie – 207k followers
Diamonds, pearls and a whole lot of latex. @Godzdontdie is like that #palegoth blog you used to follow on Tumblr, now with BDSM undertones. Unforgettable beauty moments from Givenchy, Alexander McQueen and Alessandro Michelle’s Gucci, sit alongside skimpy runway looks which might have fallen under your radar, curtesy of Gareth Pugh, Nasir Mazhar and Berlin brand Namilia. The account evolves through specific colour schemes. Moving from space-age iridescence to seductive champagne gold. It’s the Instagram account that your 14 year old self would’ve idolised.
@404archieves – 22.6k followers
Looking more e-tailor homepage than Instagram account, @404archieves delivers a high-density run of archive pieces from some of our favourite designers, all up for grabs. There’s a whole lot of Jean Paul Gaultier 1990s oriental printed kimonos and mesh tops, paired with utilitarian workwear from Issey Miyake, Junya Watanabe and the GBNF Miu Miu mens. Yes, when next payday comes around you could spend your Friday morning queuing outside Dover Street Market for the next Alyx drop. But equally, you could stay in bed and spend, spend, spend on some rare finds.
@Adarchives – 23.4k followers
Taken directly from the pages of i-D, Sleazenation and The Face, @adarchieves is the Instagram gem posting the most eye-grabbing ads that have plastered the pages of our favourite publications in the 1990s and noughties. Though it’s not occupied with the most memorable ads from juggernaut fashion houses. The account takes a refined, more considered approach to sourcing out niche adverts. Early Stüssy, Helmut Lang and Comme des Garçons SHIRT ads grab your attention almost instantly, yet it is the more obscure finds from Nokia, Absolut Vodka and Oakley eyewear, that were bound to have been plastered on the walls of teenage bedrooms across the globe.
@Diorinthe2000s – 47k followers
J’ADORE DIOR. For all still mourning John Galliano’s theatrical, larger than life stamp on the Parisian house, this account is here to fulfil all your cravings. Documenting Galliano’s tenure at Dior from 1996 to 2010, the account posts videos and high-res images of the designer’s greatest haute couture and ready-to-wear hits. Pat McGrath’s Kabuki-style warriors in transparent latex and mauve fur still hold the intense gaze they did back in 2003. This account encapsulates everything we loved about Galliano’s Dior.
@Oneofa___kind – 135k followers
Curated by Gregory Chester in Portobello Road, West London, One Of A Kind is a place of fashion daydreams. Now standing at a flurry of over 1000 posts, the account is a collective of beautifully considered photographic work, magazine editorials and archive pieces from Comme to Margiela.
@Manfredthierrymugler – 244k followers
Who better to document the work of a house than the man behind the vision. Manfred Thierry Mugler has evolved his personal Instagram into a timeline of his most remarkable creations. From the bedazzled cherry-red cowboy look from SS92, and the infamous motorcycle corset, to most recently featuring Solange clad in a 1992 Mugler robot body-suit from her When I Get Home album film. If you’re not able to jet across the Atlantic to see the first retrospective of the designer, currently being held at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts – this is a fine alternative.
@Velvetcoke – 719k followers
If you’re looking for a heavy dose of US 90s nostalgia, @velvetcoke is the place. Britney and Justin throwback moments go hand-in-hand with boisterous performances from Axl Rose and coming-of-age movie stills. There’s even some iconic Jerry Springer clips for your consideration. This is some classic Americana through a rose-tinted Instagram filter.
@McQueen_vault – 24.6k followers
Yesterday would’ve been Alexander McQueen’s 50th birthday. The revolutionary designer’s ground-breaking vision was celebrated across social media yesterday. Yet Instagram account @McQueen_vault celebrates the designer 365 days a year. Tending to the complexities of the late designer’s work, the account details his most memorable designs, whilst a clever series of posts entitled ‘STORIED CODES’ documents how Sarah Burton’s contemporary vision for the house is informed by the sharp silhouettes and spliced tailoring of McQueen’s own work.
@Archivings.stacks – 24.3k followers
If you’re looking for a cluster of runway moments gravitated mostly towards the work of Shinichiro Arakawa, Comme and Yohji Yamamoto, @archiving.stacks is a must follow. As well as distorted runway shots and campaigns which have faded into oblivion, the account offers a detailed look into the construction of some stellar garments, highlights curtesy of Undercover’s Jun Takahashi.
@prada.archive – 4.2k followers
This is Miuccia Prada’s universe, and we’re just living in it. The work of the fashion powerhouse has been excellently documented on @prada.archive, an account which has carefully curated Prada’s work, both past and present – blazing forward the designer’s outspoken vision to an audience demographic which were probably too young to remember her earliest work. We can’t get enough of this virtual-Nylon heaven.
