Bay Garnett by Tom Craig
We have a Patreon page. To support, Click here .
EPISODE 109 FEATURES SUPER THRIFTER BAY GARNETT
British stylist Bay Garnett started working in fashion in the late ‘90s, and edited the NY version of Cheap Date - a zine started in London by Kira Joliffe, inspired by a love for thrifting. Bay famously put Kate Moss in the pages of British Vogue wearing vintage and has long been top of Clare’s list of charity shop fashionistas. Find out how she does it, how thrifting has changed over 20 yrs, and why giving garments multiple lives is more important than ever as a tool to reduce fashion’s environmental impact.
NOTES
THRIFTING Shopping at a thrift store, flea market, garage sale, or shop run by a charitable organisation, usually with the intent of finding interesting items at a low price. For more, try Episode 104 with Adam Minter.
Bay (left) doing what she does
“[THRIFTING] always felt a bit political, because you weren’t buying into the system…but now, more than ever…it’s about sustainability.” - Bay Garnett
FASHION FIGHTING POVERTY For Oxfam’s show during London Fashion Week (now in its 3rd year) Bay pulls together preloved outfits from the charity’s shops, and ropes in top models for the catwalk. “[Oxfam] wanted to showcase how [they are] part of the solution to fast fashion by giving clothes a second chance to be sold and preventing them ending up in landfill,” she explains. “Vintage is now as much a part of fashion as anything else we see during Fashion Week.”
STELLA TENNANT - the Scottish aristo began her career in the early ‘90s with a septum piercing and Vogue Italia cover. She soon became the face of ‘90s grunge and Chanel in tandem.
Stella Tenant in the ‘90s
ERIN O’CONNOR- this angular, super elegant British/Irish model is, according to Karl Lagerfeld, “one of the best in the world”. She’s also a journalist who’s written a column for LFW’s paper and a blog for on British Vogue online. And those cheekbones….
BELLA FREUD is a London fashion designer and art world ‘it girl’. She’s the daughter of Lucian Freud and, yes, the great-granddaughter of Sigmund himself. Best known for her impossibly cool knits.
DAISY LOWE is an English model (from the age of two) and daughter of Pearl Lowe and Bush’s Gavin Rossdale, pillars of the Primrose Hill Set.
WOODSTOCK The iconic 1969 rock festival continues to be a source of style inspiration. Hippie standbys include patchwork denim, fringing, crochet, headbands, low-slung belts and, of course, tie-dye baby.
ANITA PALLENBERG - No one was cooler, not even Keith. Clare mentions the last show she walked in, for her friend Pam Hogg. More here. The UK Telegraph got it right with: “[Anita’s style] arguably defined a whole new genre of louche, creative dressing.”
Anita Pallenberg in the 1960s
Bay with Anita in the 2000s
THE CHELSEA ANTIQUES MARKET on the King’s Road was where the rock stars went to get their vintage. Over in Notting Hill, THE ELECTRIC CINEMA on Portobello screened avant-garde and independent films in the 60s and was the place to be. For more on vintage London style in the 1960s, listen to Episode 14 with Linda Jackson here.
DIANA VREELAND was the editor of US Vogue from 1963 to 1971. Famed for her inimitable sense of style, and way with words, her staff memos are famous in their own right. “For goodness sake, beware of curls!”
SECOND HAND SEPTEMBER - an initiative by Oxfam, encouraging shoppers to pledge to only shop preloved for a whole month. Every week in the UK, 14T of clothes are bought, and 11 million garments are sent to landfill. Last year, 62,000 people pledged to stop this for September. Track what 2020 holds their site. Further listening? Try Episode 99 with Mary Creagh.
Stella Tennant and her daughter Iris in Oxfam’s Second Hand September campaign, styled by Bay with clothes from Oxfam
VINTAGE VOGUE - Bay styled Kate Moss in vintage gear for the May 2003 music issue of British Vogue, photographed by Juergen Teller. And she reckons she’s still got the banana top hidden away somewhere. More reasons to be mates with Bay.
MUSIC is by Montaigne, who sang this special acoustic version of “Because I love You” from her album Glorious Heights, just for us.
Can you help us grow? Tell your friends about Wardrobe Crisis, or leave a review in your favourite podcast app.
Clare & the Wardrobe Crisis team x