vintage

Koto Bolofo’s clothing collection



I have been waiting for the right moment to mention photographer Koto Bolofo’s fashion collection and now seems a good time. Inspired by and utilising found objects, clothing and textiles, I discovered it on the Wonderland blog and love his description of it here:

“It has a lot of relevance to now in the sense that in this “modern” world one does not seem to be really going forward, but going forward in creating disposable art and items, here today gone today. I feel society is led into not taking their time in looking at what is really good, but rushed into what is so called “next”.

“My inspiration is created from found objects that hold memories from the past and with this I try and find a contemporary way or “switch” to bring it into the present. I could be using combinations of old and modern fabrics. For example there is a long tail coat which comes in baby blue cotton velvet. The special thing about this tail coat is the interior which has a genuine unused vintage British Union Jack which bears the face of King Edward from the thirties. This is stitched to the inside of the tail coat. There are 6 flags that I found at an antique market and were never waved by the patriotic crowds due to the fact that King Edward gave up the throne of Great Britain. Only 6 tailcoats will be made, hence making this a collectible garment. All these pieces in the collection have a story to tell and my aim is to bring this forward. My nature is that I like good design that lasts and has this respect of really understanding the word timeless.”

Check out these pictures:
Koto Bolofo clothing



Images via Wonderland and Chewing The Cud



Cassie Mercantile



Cassie Mercantile vintage showroom

While some vintage stores are bailing out, others are doing perfectly fine, thank you very much.

The sublime but secretive Cassie Mercantile is a vintage clothing dealership with a showroom in genteel Holland Park. Owner Graham Cassie is a shy Scot who spends his days sourcing post-war Americana, love-worn army surplus and the odd spool of vintage haberdashery trim on his travels around the globe. He sells to upper-end designers on the lookout for inspiration as well as scooping up the perfect beat-up suitcases and just-threadbare-enough old flags to fashion into Japanese shop window displays.

On my recent visit he wouldn’t let me get too snap-happy (frankly, he doesn’t need the publicity) but allowed these gems. Clearly, there’s some mileage in vintage threads yet.