LeLook conference: What's vintage?

(read more about the great conference and about vintage... and see my outfit!)

Today, Laia and I went to a conference organized by Lelook, the fashion Observatory from Barcelona... and these are the most important things that they said:

What's Vintage?

The word vintage comes from the world of oenology, and it's used to define a wine of excellent quality. Today, this word is applied in so many things that don't have anything in common with the wines; in fashion is used to define clothes that are from different eras, from the early 20s to the latest 70s, and even the 80s. But in big words, something vintage should be something delightful.

 Doriane,  from www.parisvintage.net

Africa, from Lullaby, 

my favourite vintage shop in Barcelona (she's a lovely woman!)

Some of the speakers said that a vintage thing must be expensive, but some others argued about that, just because it depends on the people you're selling the clothes, the brand of the piece, etc. But the truth is that this kind of clothes has got a unique quality and pattern that, nowadays it's so difficult to find (especially with the 20s and 30s clothes).

So, to summarise this, something vintage is a wonderful piece that ageing in a good way, with a unique fabric and making, and transmit something (maybe emotional, from the first owner, for example).

When did the Vintage start?

They talked about Biba, a shop in London with a decoration that reminds to the 20s; and bout some films that were based in the 20s, 30s and 40s; with this inspiration, people started to look "old" things from these eras, vintage things.

In Spain, the movement started about 10-15 years ago, but today, as in the rest of the world, the word vintage is in fashion, but not everything that is the focus with this word is true vintage.

 From left to right: 

Igor Sado from LeLook

Guillaume Blonce from Holala Ibiza

Africa from Lullaby

Doriane from Paris Vintage and her lovely translator

Santa Bertomeu from Magnolia Antics

This trend could be a fashion itself, but the vintage trend is like a wave, that comes and goes away. Nowadays it's crowed, but this can change again, as it has happened before.

So we can say that these days, the word vintage is in fashion, but not the real concept. 

Why people buy Vintage things today?

In times of globalization and crisis, some people want to be seen like different, and the vintage clothes and complements make you get that different point from the mainstream without spending so much money. The future is unwritten and sometimes is scary, but the past gives uns some kind of security that we want; and contains lots of elegance; so we can say that we're looking for some elegance too when we buy vintage things.

Another factor is the quality of the clothes, as I said before; and the good quality clothes never are old fashioned. 

And another one is the point of the mainstream: if a model, actress or idol buys something vintage, people would look after something similar, so that's why the people of the mainstream goes to the vintage shops, not only the vintage lover.

What's the future of Vintage?

There always would be people who look to the past for inspiration. Even the big brands, like Balenciaga, reissue old of their emblematic clothes to keep the glamour of the fashion company. But the truth is that the future is so uncertain for the real vintage, because the clothes of the big mainstream of today are made of regular or poor quality, so they can't last forever. And the good ones, sometimes, goes for the family heritage.

So, for the second-hand clothes, the future shines... but for the real vintage (as all the vintage things are second hand but no all the second-hand clothes are vintage) the future is not so clear.

So these are the conclusions that I took from this great conference! I hope you liked them, thanks for reading!!

At the end of it, there was a little fashion show with six models, here you've got them:

And a little bit of the party after the show :)

I meet Maria (again, it was the second time I saw her) and Fer, they're both lovely!

And now, what I was wearing today ;)!

Dress - Topshop

Cardigan - Zara

Socks - Calzedonia

Shoes - Vintage

Hat - Oysho

Bag - Amsterdam

It's funny, everybody thought that my dress was vintage!

I hope you all had a lovely Wednesday! Thanks for reading, for your comments... oh, and for the comments in the last entry about inspiration and originality of the bloggers!!