Kingpins China City Tour - Hangzhou
In 2019 The Vintage Showroom, together with Orta Anadolu, was invited by the Kingpins Show to take part in a unique new event in Hangzhou, China. A huge immersive selfie museum covering all aspects of the denim world was created for the event.
What else could we do but recreate an almost to scale model of our London-store front? The set was complete with a walk-in gallery displaying photographic prints of the 5374-denim archive located in Orta’s head office in Istanbul, Turkey. The 5374-denim archive was created and curated by The Vintage Showroom in 2016.
Willis & Geiger
In 2019 The Vintage Showroom was invited to Dodgeville, WI, in the U.S.to undertake an archiving project that unpacked a legendary menswear brand that had been dormant since the 1990s.
Willis & Geiger has rightly had a cult following around the world even though the brand had been mothballed for some 20 plus years. This was a year-long project with multiple trips to Dodgeville which included unpacking and collating the archive, researching the company's history and documenting the vast collection of samples.
The project culminated in a presentation of the brand's history and review of the key highlights from the archive which was valued and appraised by The Vintage Showroom on behalf of the client.
Future Hunter Gatherer
Future Hunter Gatherer was a capsule collection for Orta Anadolu that ran over two seasons, AW2017 and SS2018.
A futuristic concept was imagined by The Vintage Showroom to showcase highlights from the Orta Anadolu's denim and RTD fabrics from their 2017 and 2018 collections. All garments were designed by The Vintage Showroom, manufactured in Orta's atelier in Istanbul and to finish off, they were washed by hand at Everest laundry in Italy.
Photoshoot and accompanying lookbooks were managed, creatively directed and designed by The Vintage Showroom.
Belstaff Archive
Between 2015-2018 The Vintage Showroom curated, developed and documented the Belstaff Archive.
In the role of Belstaff archivist during this time, Doug Gunn worked with the brand on several projects, from supporting the Creative Directors and design teams in translating the garments sourced for the archive into contemporary pieces for new collections, to speaking to media about the newly developed archive.
The Belstaff Archive was the cornerstone in marketing campaigns in regards to showcasing the iconic British brand's rich history. A global tour kicked off with an installation in Isetan Men's in Tokyo, Japan and which culminated in a bespoke showcase in the New Bond Street flagship store in London.
The project ended with a full-scale archive reveal at the Belstaff Show during London Fashion Week in 2018.
Image on behalf of Belstaff.
Free Fall
Free Fall was a conceptual design project for Orta Anadolu, deconstructing vintage parachutist clothing and hardware sourced from The Vintage Showroom's archive. The assets were then analysed and re-designed in an atelier in Istanbul. The result was a modern, utilitarian and genderless modular parka, which through the use of Orta fabrics retained the key functionality of the original garments.
From concept and design, styling and photography, as well as the washing and treatment of the garments in a specialist laundry in Italy, the project was managed and creatively directed by The Vintage Showroom in collaboration with Orta Anadolu.
H.I.S.
Back in the 1970s, H.I.S. Jeans was the fourth big denim brand together with Levi’s, Wrangler and Lee. In 2013, The Vintage Showroom was approached by the current owners to work on a 6-months research project, delving into the original company's history in order to better understand the brand's DNA and its origins.
Thorough research was conducted into the original artworks in early advertisements, and of the branding and how it evolved over the decades, including everything from product labelling, hardware, packaging and other related ephemera.
Original H.I.S. products from the 1920s-1970s were sourced and acquired on behalf of the client and together with the creative team, these were analysed for design inspiration.
Speed Stars
Speed Stars was a contemporary take on a classic motorcycle story, developed for Orta Anadolu in 2017. The capsule collection featuring fabrics from the client's extensive fabric archive were showcased for AW18/19.
Inspired by motorcycle clothing from the 1950s and 1960s, original pieces from The Vintage Showroom’s collection were reinterpreted and redesigned with modernised fits.
From concept and design, styling and photography, as well as the washing and treatment of the garments in a specialist laundry in Italy, the project was managed and creatively directed by The Vintage Showroom in collaboration with Orta Anadolu.
Lee China
In 2017 The Vintage Showroom team created an immersive archive event for Lee China. Valued guests and influencers were flown from Hong Kong and mainland China, attending our West London showroom for a presentation on the origins of the company.
Doug Gunn hosted and presented the talk for the 30 guests in attendance, which told the story of the history of the company and showed the evolution of the Lee brand over the years.
5374
In 2016, the team at The Vintage Showroom curated an extensive vintage clothing archive on behalf of Orta Anadolu, housed in their head office in Istanbul, Turkey.
After many years of the company acquiring vintage samples for research and product development, collating the collection was the natural next step. The bespoke collection room which was custom built has since become a must-see for traveling designers in Instanbul who are working with Orta fabrics.
The name of the collection, 5374, also happens to be the name of the world-leading denim mill's top-selling fabric in the 1990s, particularly favoured by Levi's.
The accompanying book, 5374 Vintage Showroom - A Denim Archive, opened a window on this hitherto private collection, highlighting some of the most prized pieces. From concept to print and publication, The Vintage Showroom wrote, designed and project managed the publication in partnership with Orta Anadolu.
Lybro
In 2015 The Vintage Showroom facilitated the acquisition of the dormant British workwear company Lybro on for Nigel Cabourn. Subsequently, a further 6-month research project was commissioned by the client into the original company, researching and analysing every aspect of Lybro’s history. Thorough research was conducted into the original artworks in early advertisements, and of the branding and how it evolved over the decades, including everything from product labelling, hardware, packaging and other related ephemera.
Original Lybro products from the 1920s-1970s were sourced and acquired on behalf of the client and together with the creative team, these were analysed for design inspiration.
This in-depth study was fundamental to the successful relaunch of the company under the Nigel Cabourn umbrella.
Arctic Whites
Arctic Whites was a 1920s inspired womenswear collection developed for Orta Anadolu in 2014. The collection was based on the first female aviators to take to the skies: Amy Johnson, Amelia Earhart, Jacqueline Cochran and Louise Arner Boyd just to name a few. It was Arner Boyd's love of the arctic that inspired the name of the collection.
A 10-piece collection was designed using inspiration from The Vintage Showroom’s extensive archive of aviation clothing. Garments were manufactured in Orta fabrics and finished with wash specialists in Italy. The accompanying lookbook was shot in-house, creating a timeless aesthetic for the collection.
Homeward
The Vintage Showroom's first project to develop a conceptual capsule collection was in 2013 for client Orta Anadolu, a world leading denim mill.
The collection Homeward was a 12-piece capsule designed by the team at The Vintage Showroom and made in Orta's atelier in Istanbul. A found photo album from The Vintage Showroom's archive was the inspiration for the nautical theme, based on U.S. Navy clothing from the 1940s with references to the tattoo culture favoured by sailors at that time.
By highlighting key fabrics from Orta's extensive fabric archive that best complimented the theme, the collection was presented to clients in a purpose-built showroom in Istanbul, Turkey.
Concept development, storyboarding, creative direction and product design was handled by The Vintage Showroom in collaboration with Orta Anadolu.
Belstaff
When the Swiss luxury goods group Labelux bought Belstaff in 2011 they recruited a number of creative design teams from Burberry, who in turn recruited The Vintage Showroom based on past successful collaborations. The project saw The Vintage Showroom deep dive into the origins of the iconic British brand and was the start of Doug Gunn's involvement with Belstaff. This saw him researching the company's origins, tracked down and interviewed surviving family members related to the founders, and sourced inspirational vintage assets from the brands' long history.