FOR THE Glass Archival Fashion Collectors series, we spoke to some of the most influential collectors from across the world to hear more about how they started their collection, the purpose behind it, and their take on the ever-growing industry. Today, we focus on: David Casavant – Raf Simons And Helmut Lang
David Casavant with a rail of his Raf Simons and Helmut Lang treasures
At the age of 14, David Casavant – the stylist, collector and consultant based in NYC – was calculating how his monthly allowance could be best spent on eBay. “I looked at the shows on style.com, which is where the shows were at the time. Out of all the men’s shows, I really liked Raf Simons.” He continues, “menswear was pretty boring. The majority of it was a brand’s afterthought. It would almost be an accessory to their women’s line. Raf was purely a menswear designer and was a bit avant-garde for what was going on at the time.” Casavant began logging his pieces, building his wardrobe and the start of the David Casavant Archive was born.
Soon, he expanded into Helmut Lang pieces and Hedi Slimane for Dior Homme. “I thought they were artists. I saw these amazing creations they were doing. So, I always presumed they were art.” But this appreciation was not mirrored in the industry at the time. “During the 2000s, it was the peak time of ‘this is last season, let’s get rid of it.’ Vintage wasn’t really a thing or a term, it was just used clothes.”
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Even the designers themselves failed to grasp the potential power of archival clothing, “the phrase ‘that’s so last season’ was prolific. That’s why I don’t think it was valued, even by the designers themselves. It wasn’t a thing.” It seems that only recently has archival fashion’s influence been truly understood. In December this year, Raf Simons is reissuing 100 pieces from his archive to celebrate the 25th anniversary of his brand. “With Raf reissuing pieces, it shows how you should really claim your heritage and everything you’ve done. It means your brand is in demand, even if it is the old pieces.”
David Casavant built contacts by helping out stylists with missing pieces for their shoots in exchange for a credit. “Eventually, I was able to start charging to rent. Then a couple of years went by and I started working with Kanye [West] …” Since then, David Casavant has dressed Rihanna, Travis Scott, Dev Hynes, Solange, Kim Kardashian, Lady Gaga and many more in his archival pieces. He has become such an established collector that in 2018 he published the David Casavant Archive, a book of encounters between artists and the archive that expanded his fashion and celebrity collaborations. Although Casavant believes in clothes to be worn, not preserved, he loans selectively. “That’s my insurance policy. For me, if I trust these people, then wear and tear is okay.”
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When Helmut Lang left his namesake fashion label in 2005, he burnt the 6,000 to 8,000 pieces of clothing in his archive and then used the “fabric confetti” in his art. As a result, pieces Casavant owns are the only version in the world. “I’m pretty sure a lot of things I have are probably one of a kind, so that’s cool. You sort of just know by never seeing it anywhere else!” Ranging from a Raf Simons SS00 prototype black palms bomber to a Helmut Lang SS04 mummy jeans to a Tom Ford for Gucci thong, Casavant knows what is cool. “I buy things from Walmart just because I love the items, but other things are cool because a person made it. I have Raf Simons glow sticks. They could just be glow sticks but what’s cool is that they are by Raf. When you look at it, it creates a whole story in your head.”
When I ask him what the purpose behind these pieces, and his archive at large, his answer reasserts this. “I say I’m a collector rather than an archivist because I don’t have an archive to preserve the past like a museum would. I do it to express my vision. I like to use it as a tool for myself and other people to use. Besides that, it’s because I love it. That’s the biggest reason – I just love the clothes. Why wouldn’t I want to own them if I love them so much?”
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by Lily Rimmer