Fashion archives are often little known and passed over by students in favor of more creative pursuits, but they are brought to life by passionate professionals. As documentaries or archivists, these people contribute to the reputation of luxury fashion houses and work with cultural institutions and creative departments.
To better understand this job behind the scenes, FashionUnited spoke to an expert in the profession. With her face veiled, “M.”, head of the archives of a large Parisian fashion house, reveals what her everyday work is like.
What are your main tasks as archive manager?
We have two main tasks in the archives. The first is to create an inventory of the collections. We have kept all items from the beginning of the company to the present day. We do not have an acquisition policy, but we have over ten thousand works that need to be cataloged. To do this we need to create a small inventory label with the most important information and the inventory number, connected to a digital database in which we enter all the important information so that we can easily find the pieces again when we need them. The database also serves as an inventory so we know what we have at home. It can also be useful from a procurement policy point of view as we have some gaps in our inventory.
Unfortunately, due to space constraints, as is the case with many fashion houses, we cannot archive everything. We will mainly highlight the haute couture because they are unique pieces, works of art that reflect the house, but we also archive the other ready-to-wear lines.
We also pack a bit. We are not trained conservators. That’s why we rely on external service providers who specialize in preventive conservation and, if necessary, restoration. However, we have a base for packaging, that is, we purchase appropriate materials, museum materials such as tissue paper, neutral boxes that do not deteriorate over time and ensure that the items are well preserved, covers to cover clothes and padded hangers.
So we have this basis that allows us to ensure the preservation of the garment because we have to make sure that the inventory doesn’t change or deteriorate over time. Ideally, if we photographed a piece at a certain point in time, it should have changed as little as possible when we take it out of the archive a few months or years later.
What other aspects does your work include?
The second aspect concerns the management of loaned items that can be used both inside and outside the house. Internal loans are primarily those for studios. The designers come to us as soon as they are preparing a new collection and are looking for inspiration. Some designers have very specific wishes and ask for a very specific piece. This can also be done in the form of a thematic search.
We also have press loan agreements that apply to newer pieces, as we don’t send old, historical pieces to shoots for fear of damaging them.
We also take part in exhibitions, even if we are not currently preparing any ourselves. We don’t do a lot of retrospectives; We generally lend one to a maximum of three works to museums and cultural institutions for exhibitions. On average we take part in five to six exhibitions a year around the world. As with internal loans, this can be a very specific request from the exhibition curators, or a more vague idea about the theme of the exhibition, for which we then select specific pieces. These are often large-scale exhibitions, which is why the pieces shown are often haute couture or very eye-catching.
The third aspect that we are still developing is a communication strategy, which we touch on a little in our work with the press and cultural institutions. However, we want to bring the archives to life both internally and externally. Our archives are closed to the public and we do not want to open them at the moment. However, we would like to develop an internal storytelling program and welcome newcomers to the company in order to present the archives to everyone who is interested. At the same time, we would like to take part in more exhibitions and publication projects with fashion researchers.
What does a typical day look like for you?
When we arrive in the morning, we first get a quick overview of current events, heritage, fashion and culture. Then come the tasks. It is important to remember that the orders are long-term. The day may be interrupted by urgent requests for internal loans from the studios or press department, but this is rare.
We take inventory, which is quite easy in the house because everything is organized and sorted by chronology and within the chronology by collections. So we select a category and do the inventory, in other words we take the piece, try to define it, photograph it, enter all the information into the digital database and move on to the next piece. Since we also have a photo studio, we switch roles: While one person takes inventory, another takes photos of the items.
Then we pack the parts using our materials that we have in stock. We often repackage parts that have been stored in a certain way and move them to a different location to optimize their preservation. But we’re never far from our emails and phones for emergencies, especially when we’re preparing for an exhibition.
What do you enjoy most about your work?
Having access to a small museum. I am lucky to work in a fashion house that allows me to see extraordinary pieces up close, which is a real opportunity for me. That’s the part I like best: being amazed every day and discovering craftsmanship, know-how and extraordinary pieces. I also love the idea of telling a whole story around a house’s heritage. I love meeting and talking to other people from the label, showing them the archives and telling them about our history. Through my work I have the opportunity to help bring the archives to life, because it is easy to end up with dead material while the heritage and archives can speak for themselves.
What are the ideal qualifications for this position?
As for the study, it is quite complicated because there are few studies on culture or at least on fashion, let alone on heritage in France. But there are some very good courses at Parsons, the IFM, the Sorbonne and the École du Louvre. You need to have studied something related to the cultural world, and ideally the cultural world of fashion, but there is no one-size-fits-all course, at least not here.
I interviewed for internships and had a wide range of profiles, some from the creative field and others from the literary field. However, what stood out among all the applicants we selected and interviewed was a great passion for fashion history and archives.
And what properties are required?
I think you have to be really curious and want to find out more, but also have a good knowledge of the company you’re applying to and fashion history in general. You have to regularly attend fashion exhibitions and keep up to date with what’s new.
We don’t do a lot of editorial work within the company. Therefore, it is not necessary to have good writing skills. On the other hand, we are very often in our reserves and archives. We expect people to be careful, sensitive and patient because we cannot afford to handle the pieces hastily and damage them.
It is a long-term task and we have orders that take a lot of time. For example, photographing entire collections takes time, and you have to take the time to do it right. It is also a job that requires a certain level of organization because it is a large museum that we have to manage and that requires very careful work. The exhibits must be tidy, easy to find and well preserved.
When interviewing, I looked for people who were calm and patient, because unlike many other jobs in the fashion industry, where you work in excitement and at high speed, we are a little removed from that excitement.
What advice would you give to someone wanting to get into this career?
I would say go out there and meet the pros. It’s a small company, so the people are very friendly and very passionate about what they do. They are happy to answer questions and tell you a little more about their work.
In Paris, one is fortunate to have easy access to archives such as the Yves Saint Laurent Museum, the Galerie Dior and public facilities such as the Palais Galliera and the Musée des Arts Décoratifs. So you have to be curious and not hesitate to seek them out.
The identity of the interviewee was verified.
This translated article previously appeared on FashionUnited.fr