Welcome To The Era Of Archival Fashion

A theory: Whoever said that “Everything old is new again” was actually trying to buy a nice lightweight sweater or jacket for fall 2018. That’s because everywhere you turn, the newness that designers are putting out looks increasingly…old. And that’s by design. Brands ranging from Burberry and Versace to Ralph Lauren and J.Crew are counting on old icons from their very own archives to be this year’s hottest sellers. For her spring men’s and women’s collections, Donatella Versace deployed archival prints with the subtlety of an atom bomb, decorating everything with curlicues, Roman statuary, and distorted checks and zig-zags with glee. They were pulled from the vast Versace archives but never before used. Still, that sense of throwback permeated her spring women’s showing with the introduction of the Tribute Collection. A quick whirl on the Italian brand’s site shows the men’s offering is also robust: Andy Warhol pop-art Marilyn Monroe prints, cheetah prints, Vogue covers, and plenty of gilding in increasingly baroque patterns fill out the collection. Read more at GQ.