In a well lit studio in south london. A small group of fashion enthusiasts are trying to get the last bit of orders out before the day ends. Huddled around a rack that has 20 year old pieces carefully wrapped in plastic, this is Azar. There is no 50k square foot warehouses with automatic robots going to and fro at light speed. The team is currated and thats just the way they like it. The site consists of AF Vandevorst, Commes des garcons, and HBA. But Azar does not discriminate. Anything that has vintage charm and tells a story, is fair game. Almost exclusively womenswear, Azar adds onto vintage pieces by displaying them in dreamlike scenarios. Almost giving a backrooms vibe, they market the pieces as an extension of the wearer's personality focusing on wearing the pieces instead of the pieces wearing you. I got a chance to speak with Azar to pick their brain about what exactly drives them to reimagine pieces that are long gone, but still live in the minds of fashion enthusiasts as relics.
1. At first glance, you would not guess that your page is for a clothing archive. Having a backrooms vibe to it, what is the inspiration behind your editing style?
Azar: Not being distinguishable as an archive was deliberate as we wanted to have a wider appeal for people that might not be all the way into clothes. The backrooms vibe came naturally. think subconsciously we’re into spooky things, even in film, music etc. We were very excited to create our own world so to speak.
2. Most archives we see put the pieces on a model and thats about it. You seem to tell a story with your edits. What is the message you want fashion enthusiasts to know when coming across your brand?
Azar: There are a lot of really cool archives in the UK, but we felt that building a very strong visual identity could make ours stand out. We kind of took a tumblr approach, where we would post without too much thought. Less dumps and more shit posting. Like how Instagram was when it first launched. Fashion enthusiasts should know that they should stop being so serious and that they can consistently put out work from their bedrooms.
3. The piece selection in your archive is unique. Most of the pieces are very niche and cater to seasoned fashion enthusiasts. What are some other brands you would like to bring into the archive in the future?
Azar: We currently have mostly British and Japanese brands in our archive. We want to expand our selection of Belgium brands like Dries Van Norten and Ann Demeulemeester, specifically pieces from that 2005-2010 era.
4. Archive piece reselling is one of those professions that sort of find you instead of the other way around. Tell us about how you got into this business and what you love most about it.
Azar: We had always been around clothing and design stuff. The archive started forming through shopping for ourselves, and we enjoyed looking around the internet for steals. Like previously mentioned, we love building the world. Whether it’s from carefully choosing what pieces suit our archive, or deciding what images to pair with our photographs / edits.
5. Favorite piece you had in your store?
Azar: Comme des Garçons SS06 Union Jack Dress
6. I owned a pair of Raf Simons bondage pants from 2003, and I was too scared to wear them because of the “rarity”. How many people do you come across that are actually wearing their pieces? Or are most people buying them as collectors items?
Azar: We think now, people are definitely wearing their archive stuff, maybe even too much. You can always spot a fashion enthusiast in a crowd now as they could be head to toe in Rick leather. We think the beauty in wearing your pieces is when you integrate it into your own style and world, not just wearing it.
Ready To Create Your Own Garments?
See for yourself how we can help you design and manufacture
your own pieces to take your brand/business to the next level.
7. Tell us about sourcing! Is there a secret network connection you have that gives you access to these pieces consistently? Or are we common folk just not as fashion forward as you :)
Azar: No secret connection, we’re common folk too.
8. Any final remarks?
Azar: Our goal is to make azar more than just an archive. But we’re genuinely winging it.
“
"The archive started forming through shopping for ourselves, and we enjoyed looking around the internet for steals"
Get These Articles Directly In Your Inbox!
Be the first to get access to niche fashion culture related content not
seen anywhere else on the internet.
