This story appears in i-D issue 376, on newsstands March 10.
photography ANTON GOTTLOB
styling CLARE BYRNE
written by ALEX KESSLER
Vintage is the moment. The real divas are wearing archive, stylists are digging deeper than ever (hi, Law Roach!), and access has become the difference between finding something special and missing it entirely.
London wears vintage like a second skin. Walk into any of the city’s cult shops and you’re hit with a beautiful, curated mess—archive runway gowns in one neighbourhood, cowboy ropes in another, teddy-bear minis here, leather that outlived Camden in the ’80s there.
At Nordic Poetry (a Charli xcx fave), you’ll find museum-level pieces that should probably be behind glass but somehow ended up in Bethnal Green. Over at Lovers Lane, someone once emerged from the fitting room in a sheer Chanel sample with her whole REDACTED front and centre, wondering aloud about nipple visibility. And at Hey Cowboy!, a ’70s Burger King belt buckle once stopped the whole shop in its tracks. It’s that kind of city.
We caught up with some of the best of the business for the real tea.
Nordic Poetry
Founder: Ameli Lindgren
Location: Bethnal Green
What inspires me about vintage is… It lets you create your own language instead of following a trend cycle. The craziest piece I ever sold was… Two original Westwood Seditionaries tees, a Spring 2003 backless tattoo silk gown, and a Tom Ford-era Gucci Fall 2003 leather coat with fur and a corset belt. I probably should’ve kept that one. The one thing in the store I could never part with is… There’s one archive piece each season that I keep pulling off the shop floor. Some garments just belong in my personal archive. My golden rule for wearing vintage is… Wear what feels natural. Don’t overthink it. If my shop had a theme song, it would be… “LONDON (feat. J. Cole)” by BIA or Cardi B’s “Imaginary Playerz.”
Lovers Lane
Founders: Charlotte, Georgina, & Kimberley Cohu
Location: Portobello
What inspires me about vintage is… The stories. Every piece has a past life—sometimes fashion history, sometimes someone’s secret world. The craziest piece I ever sold was… A Dolce & Gabbana Spring 2003 miniskirt covered in multicoloured teddy bears. It shouldn’t have worked, but it did. Our truly insane pieces usually go into our permanent archive, like our Vivienne Westwood Fall 1990 François Boucher corset set—from the iconic runway kiss moment. My most memorable customer was… A girl who walked out of the fitting room in nothing but a sheer Chanel Fall 2007 crochet dress—on a packed Saturday—asking if we could see her nipples.If my store were a character in a film, it would be… Something between noughties-era Angelina Jolie and Grace Kelly.
Hey Cowboy!
Founder: Ed McAllister
Location: Shoreditch
My most memorable customer was… I could say Ryan Gosling or Drake, but honestly—probably the guy who fell asleep in our armchair for most of an afternoon. The craziest piece I ever sold was… A ’70s Burger King belt buckle with “Home of the Whopper” and a big downward arrow. Hot. The one thing in the store I could never part with is… The rope I won in a Texas cattle roping competition. The most London thing that’s ever happened in my shop was… A trans woman and a conservative-looking country bloke bonding over the same pair of boots—and chasing down a shoplifter in two-inch cowboy heels. If my store were a character in a film, it would be… Robert Redford in The Electric Horseman—lit up, fabulous, doing the right thing.
One of a Kind Archive
Founder: Jeff Ihenacho
Location: Portobello
The craziest piece I ever sold was… A coat from John Galliano’s Les Incroyables graduation collection from 1984—the one that now lives in the Met. It still haunts me. My most memorable customer was… Probably the late Princess Leila Pahlavi, who always chose the best pieces. She loved shopping in the middle of the night and would sometimes stay until 3 a.m. She said it felt like a fairytale. The most London thing that’s ever happened in my shop was… When Björk came heavily pregnant. Fans gathered outside and she suddenly sprinted down Portobello Road—belly, bags, and all—leaving everyone stunned.
Love Leather
Founders: Peter Randolph & Wendy Ingall
Location: Spitalfields
The craziest piece I ever sold was… Fox stoles. The one thing in the store I could never part with is… The location. And vintage furs. My golden rule for wearing vintage is… Recycling is good for the planet. If my shop had a theme song, it would be… “Let It Be” by The Beatles. The most London thing that’s ever happened in my shop was… Hordes of Japanese and Chinese tourists. If my store were a character in a film, it would be… Walter White from Breaking Bad.
Adhominem
Founder: Marina Pérez Molina
Location: Hackney
What inspires me about vintage is… Its unpredictability. My most memorable customer was… A mysterious girl who flew in from Switzerland, didn’t give her real name, and bought over 40 of my favourite pieces. The one thing in the store I could never part with is… The Chloé by Phoebe Philo bracelet bag—the ultimate Adhominem piece. My golden rule for wearing vintage is… Three: It must work with what I own, feel like me, and last at least 15 years. The most London thing that’s ever happened in my shop was… A major pop star’s head stylist sourcing for a film while the Uber driver patiently waited—I brought him tap water. If my store were a character in a film, it would be… Faye Wong in Chungking Express.
Model DANA SMITH
Hair SOICHI INAGAKI USING BUMBLE AND BUMBLE AT MA GROUP
Makeup REBECCA WORDINGHAM USING SHISEIDO AT MA GROUP
Nails LIIA ZOTOVA USING CHANEL
Photography Assistant FEDERICO COVARELLI
Studio Manager ANNIE SHEAD
Styling Assistant MEI LING COOPER
Producer SIOBAHN DEVLIN
Production Manager EMMA COLLERY
Production Coordinator MIA VINACCIA
Production FARAGO PROJECTS
Post Production STUDIO GOTTLOB