As a stylist, David Casavant has been shaping the image of some of pop culture’s most influential protagonists for over a decade, and it all started with Kanye West…which he is now suing for over $400,000. “As co-workers, we get along very well. It’s hard to find such creative and enthusiastic people, because mediocrity is overrated now,” says Casavant. After welcoming Kanye into his giant fashion archive, offering rentals and advice on Yeezythe lawsuit, which was filed against the musician for his failure to return 13 ultra-rare designer clothes, “is just a formality in business”.
It’s a well-known trope that celebrity lawyers are kept in business with heart-pounding legal battles, but with its latest project, Casavant cuts out the middleman, taking for Dover street market in New York to bring some of his most beloved treasures to the public. A feverish collector since his early teens, Casavant’s archive is not just physical clothing, but the people, places, attitudes and moments that once lay within them. So while buyers will have access to vintage, shaggy Helmut Lang jackets, Anne Demeulemeester feather boas, and miu miu underpants, they will literally enter into the heritage of Rihanna, Pharrelland Raf Simons, all of whom have worn these exact pieces. “I like the pieces to whisper and not scream,” says Casavant, despite the neon harnesses, mesh vests and reflective jeans all making the list. “I’ve always had a preference for minimal fashion, because it’s easy and not too much effort.”
In the media landscape, rental services are often presented as the future of fashion consumption, but it has always been at the heart of Casavant’s practice. “When I first wanted musicians to wear these pieces, they were actually considered ‘used clothes’ and undesirable to wear, which is funny to look back on,” he says. . And, somewhat surprisingly, it is Lorde whom he credits with changing the narrative surrounding second-hand clothing. “She was actually wearing my vintage Raf AW00 bomber before Kanye and Rihanna, but whenever someone is the first to wear a piece, it’s kind of a moment. While it may be the most worn piece in his collection, it’s one of Simons’ AW02 creations that has been hardest to part with. “It’s an original sample and has never been produced. It still bears the Totem PR tag and is made from such amazing material it’s hard to describe. It’s like a garbage bag with those silver threads that’s been woven and quilted in. It ought to be in a museum as part of the story.
While archival fashion – mainly Versace, Gucci of the Tom Ford eraand Roberto Cavalli — has found new currency on the red carpet and on resale sites, all going against the industry’s enduring obsession with novelty. “You might miss the DSM exhibit if you didn’t know or recognize the pieces,” says Casavant. “They’re not supposed to look brand new and neatly shipped from the factory. This is something you can pick up backstage in fashion, hanging on a rack like it’s just been brought back of a shoot or a dressing room. I thought it would be kind of funny if people were like, ‘Oh wait, right?’ last season “and immediately forgotten because of it. But I have always considered them art, their value should only increase with age.
Casavant decided to take the tradition one step further by kicking off the sale with a virtual reality landscape film directed by long-time collaborator artist Jacolby Satterwhite. “I’d rather die than have to organize and do a real fashion show. Either way, everyone is going to see it on their phone. Jacolby is a genius, he creates amazing animated worlds, and I just let him interpret the video the way he wanted. As the designer says goodbye to his babies, he seems to be carving out room for even more stories, lives and experiences, embodied in a special item of clothing on his wishlist. “A Helmut Lang bubble coat,” he concludes. “The name alone speaks for itself as to why.”