The Todd Oldham Archives: Three Vibe-Defining ’90s Collections

This summer, the ’90s fashion maverick Todd Oldham launched Todd Oldham Makershop, a project that sees the designer “making new things out of old things” by tapping into unused materials from his studio archive. When I spoke to Oldham and his nephew, the jewelry designer Presley Oldham, about the endeavor, the subject of his archival collections came up. Oldham has meticulously preserved them in storage, together with original runway photographs and videos.

It’s no secret that the internet loves a little fashion nostalgia, and millennials and Gen Z types are especially curious about the past that they just missed out on. Oldham’s collections, along with those of his contemporaries Manfred Thierry Mugler and Azzedine Alaïa, are at the top of the totem pole of the archival-runway-as-content phenomenon. Now, Vogue Runway is getting in on the action, looking back at some of Oldham’s collections, and listening in as the designer remembers how they came together.

“I’m not a nostalgic person, I spend no time in my past, but it’s fun when you see it all,” Oldham said of the dusting off pictures. “It makes me happy because I was really happy with what we did then, and I’m still happy.” He adds, pensive, “you know, there was absolutely no reason why I should have been successful. I barely graduated high school, there’s just no reason. And I think that gives people hope that you don’t always get the golden ring the first time around, you know? You have to persevere, you have to believe that you have something to say and you have to throw yourself on the tracks for it. There was nothing that was too far [out]. I mean, we wove jackets out of copper wire and semi-precious stones. We never hit a wall with how far we could go.”

The past few years have seen designers like Pierpaolo Piccioli of Valentino and Christopher John Rogers illuminate the runways with their vibrant color, ushering in a return to the rainbow brights Oldham was once known for. At the same time, the likes of Vaquera and SC103 have embraced the subversive DIY aesthetic he set forth in the early ’90s, while everyone from Collina Strada to Gabriela Hearst now practices the personality casting he was known for. Oldham really was a talent ahead of his time. Scroll through for more from the designer, as he revisits three of his vibe-defining collections with us.

Spring 1993

“This collection was called “Fair.” I lived between New York and Texas, and our factory was in Dallas. The Texas State Fair was on for three weeks and I would go so many times! Between the people and the incredible art deco extravaganza that it was, I just loved how charismatic it felt. The feeling of the fair is what fueled this collection, but like everything I ever did, it was really just a large collection of ideas that somehow I could get to mingle.”

Click here for the full collection and Todd’s memories about the show.