I never would have thought that ARCHIVE.pdf could grow into one of the premier platforms for archive fashion enthusiasts.
Founded in 2019, I began this passion-project with the simple goal of sharing scans of fashion publications through Tumblr and fashion-focused Facebook groups. From spending hundreds of hours scanning publications in the basement, to transcribing obscure interviews from Japanese magazines, ARCHIVE.pdf slowly but surely attracted fellow enthusiasts: scanners, writers, archivists and the likes. Before I knew it, the one-man project grew to a team of 20, all sharing the common goal of expressing our passion for archival fashion.
To celebrate reaching 100K followers on Instagram, the ARCHIVE.pdf Team has curated 100 of their favorite fashion moments. We strive to continue sharing our love for archival fashion with you, both through this article and through new projects coming in 2024.
From contributors to collaborators, mentors and followers, thank you all!
- Riv, Founder of ARCHIVE.pdf
1. Jun Takahashi and NIGO's Nowhere Store Grand Opening
2. Undercover A/W 1994 First Runway Show
3. Acronym Kit 1, 2001
4. Undercover S/S 2011 ‘Underman’ Story Book
5. Comme des Garçons SIX Magazine Series
Instagram: @riv.ig
1. Number (N)ine S/S 2009 'Lonesome Heroes', Heart Magazine 2009
2. Number (N)ine SS/AW 2003 'TOUCH ME I’M SICK ~ A NEW MORNING' Runway Finale
3. Takuya Kimura Wearing Number (N)ine A/W 2002 Remake Patchwork T-Shirt, Men’s Nonno August 2003
4. Comme Des Garçons Homme Plus S/S 2006
5. TAKAHIROMIYASHITATheSoloIst S/S 2017
Instagram: @aclosedfeeling
1. Undercover A/W 2001 'D.A.V.F'
2. Raf Simons S/S 1998 'Black Palms'
3. Number (N)ine A/W 2009 'A Closed Feeling'
4. Carol Christian Poell S/S 2004 'Mainstream Downstream'
5. Alexander McQueen A/W 2009 'The Horn of Plenty'
Instagram @noel__rainey
1. Grace Jones wearing Armani on the cover of 'Nightclubbing'
2. Helmut Lang S/S 2004 Collection
3. Rick Owens A/W 2012 'Mountain' Womenswear
4. Cayce Pollard’s black Buzz Rickson’s MA-1 in 'Pattern Recognition' by William Gibson and the subsequent collaboration between Rickson’s and Gibson to make the jacket a reality
5. John Mollo’s costume design for 'Alien' (1979)
Instagram: @9amest_
1. Cloak S/S 2006
2. Raf Simons S/S 1998 'Black Palms'
3. Number (N)ine S/S 2007 'About a Boy'
4. Number (N)ine Men's RTW A/W 2009
5. Gucci Aria Ending
Instagram: @drnhng
1. The moment Shalom Harlow’s dress was spray-painted by robots at the end of the Alexander McQueen S/S 1999 show
2. For S/S 2001, titled Voss, Lee McQueen turned the catwalk into a clinical glass box in which models – including Kate Moss – appeared trapped.
3. John Galliano S/S 1993 ready-to-wear
4. Carol Christian Poell S/S 2004 'Mainstream-Downstream'
5. Tom Ford Gucci A/W 1996
Instagram: @babybangs____
1. Raf Simons x Brian Calvin S/S 2013
2. Louis Vuitton S/S 2019 by Virgil Abloh
3. Raf Simons A/W 2002 'Virginia Creeper'
4. Kanye West - Louis Vuitton Don 2010
5. Helmut Lang S/S 2024 by Peter Do
Instagram: @artvanstanza
1. Yohji Yamamoto A/W 2019
2. 2019 S’YTE x Junji Ito illustrations of Kirie & Azami
3. A/W 2018 HYKE x TNF Collection
4. Undercover S/S 2011 x Medicom Toy 'UNDERMAN' & 'Piranoido'
5. Undercover S/S 2001 Editorial featuring Tadanobu Asano
Instagram: @greyghidorah
1. Undercover A/W 2020 'The Fallen Man'
2. Undercover A/W 2021 Ready-to-Wear Collection
3. Virgil Abloh x Nike 'The Ten'
4. Alexander Mcqueen S/S 2001
5. Issey Miyake Bomber A/W 1996 & Robin Williams
Instagram: @austinpinilla
1. Undercover's Paris Fashion Week debut with the Anti-War, crust punk inspired S/S 2003 'SCAB' Collection
2. Hedi Slimane's S/S 2016 'SURF SOUND' collection gives a modern and youthful take on grunge
3. Enfants Riches Deprimes F/W 2018 runway show
4. Number (N)ine S/S 2003 'TOUCH ME I’M SICK' runway show
5. Enfants Riches Deprimes offers a hand knit cashmere noose to buyers for the cost of 7000 dollars
Instagram: @izzydavis.ig
1. Ann Demeulemeester A/W 2010 Men's Collection
2. Number (N)ine A/W 2006 'NOIR' Leather Cape
3. Deepti A/W 2016 'Broken Formality' Glass Vest
4. Carol Christian Poell S/S 2004 'Mainstream Downstream' Collection
5. TAKAHIROMIYASHITA The Soloist. A/W 2015 'INTRO' Collection
Instagram: @f.liiiz
1. Kate Moss wearing Rick Owens by Corinne Day (2001)
2. Issey Miyake: Travel Through The World by Yuriko Takagi (1998)
3. Vivienne Westwood in Seditionaries (1977)
4. Hiroshi Fujiwara, Nigo, and Jun Takahashi for Last Orgy 3 (1996)
5. Grand Master Flash for Louis Vuitton by Helmut Lang celebrating 100th Anniversary of monogram (1997)
Instagram: @richhomiekhan
1. Elsa Schiaparelli and Salvador Dali’s 1938 Skeleton Dress
2. Raf Simons’s A/W 1998 ‘Radioactivity’ collection which was heavily inspired by Kraftwerk
3. Aitor Throup’s ‘The Rite of Spring/Summer/Autumn/Winter’ displays his runway pieces on human-sized marionettes
4. Maison Margiela A/W 1995 Collection
5. Vexed Generation 1994 ‘Vexed Parka’, made with knife- and fire-proof ballistic nylon, addresses London’s social issues of the 1990s
Instagram: @e.lig
1. Veronique Branquinho recreating Twin Peaks for her A/W 2004 Menswear Collection
2. Patti Smith walking for Ann Demeulemeester’s A/W 2006 Collection.
3. Hedi Slimane receives Designer of the Year award at CFDA ceremony (2002). Presented by David Bowie
4. Tom Ford announced as Creative Director for Gucci & Yves Saint Laurent in 1994.
5. Takahiro Miyashita presenting his A/W 2001 collection for Number (N)ine, entitled “Standards”.
Instagram: @clarkreeve
1. Carol Christian Poell S/S 2002 ‘Traditional Escape’
2. Deepti Barth A/W 2016 ‘Broken Formality’ Suicide Vest
3. Rick Owens A/W 2016 ‘Mastodon’
4. Boris Bidjan Saberi A/W 2018 ‘Paganism’
5. Carol Christian Poell 2-09 ‘SelfSame’ Fiberglass parka
Instagram: @__garrgoyle__
1. 6·1 THE MEN: Comme des Garçons & Yohji Yamamoto
2. Lithuanian Barcelona Olympics uniform designer by Issey Miyake
3. ISSEY MIYAKE MEN S/S 2000 by Naoki Takizawa, featuring Takashi Murakami
4. Undercover S/S 2003 Paris Debut
5. HAPPY VICTIMS by Kyoichi Tsuzuki
Instagram: @myclothingarchive
1. Christophe Decarnin Closing His S/S 2010 Show
2. Ricardo Tisci premiering the Givenchy Rottweiler motif for A/W 2011
3. Carman Kass by Mario Testino for Gucci by Tom Ford. - Pubic Gucci Logo
4. Pete Doherty wearing Artisanal Margiela Kiss Shirt
5. Raf Simons S/S 1999 'Kinetic Youth' Runway Show
Instagram: @sane_voss
1. Linda Evangelista, Michaela Berko, Kristen Owen, Paris, Comme des Garçons, 1988
2. Yohji Yamamoto Memoires, 1997
3. Issey Miyake 'Universe of Fashion' 1997
4. Helmut Lang A/W 1999 Collection Featured in ‘2001: A Fashion Odyssey’ Editorial by Michael Thompson
5. Jean Paul Gaultier A/W 1997 RTW
Instagram: @glofinn
1. Kanye West wears Margiela Mask
2. Issey Miyake Lithuania’s Iconic 1992 Olympic Uniform
3. Nelson Mandela wears Yankee Cap
4. Aitor Throup, 2017
5. Julius x Takeshi Obata
Instagram: @ha.knhqk_pdf
1. Heliot Emil RTW A/W 2022
2. Irving Penn Regards the Work of Issey Miyake: Photographs 1975-1998
3. Rei Kawakubo Comme Des Garcons A/W 2016
4. Louis Vuitton Menswear Show Cloud Accessories A/W 2020
5. Pep Guardiola for Antonio Miro 1993
Instagram: @kyssedi