Vintage Retailers Rally To Raise Funds For Black Lives Matter With Designer Sale

In the wake of the international protests sparked by the senseless and unjust death of George Floyd, many major fashion brands have been slow to act and offer meaningful support. Small, independent brands have begun paving the way for an anti-racist industry with a focus on raising up others – and, now, vintage sellers have joined this vital move forward with actions, rather than words.

On 10 June, 20 archive retailers from around the world launched a designer sale to raise vital funds for Black Lives Matter organisations. Paris’s Nina Gabbana Vintage – which spearheaded the call-out – Byronesque, Serotonin, Pechuga Vintage and 16 other platforms listed between one and eight pieces using the hashtag, #VTG4BLM. One hundred per cent of profits will go to civil rights charities in support of the Black Lives Matter movement.

The #VTG4BLM feed has quickly become a treasure trove of rare ’90s pieces, including mesh tops, printed trousers and workaday shirts from Jean Paul Gaultier’s autumn/winter 1997 Fight Racism collection. Tom Ford-era Gucci siren-red sandals and strapless dresses are also up for grabs, alongside classic Vivienne Westwood and Issey Miyake items, and revolutionary Alexander McQueen looks. 

“The millennials are taking on this never-ending fight and so far they’re doing a hell of a job,” said Vintage Star-Paris of the retailers’ ability to mobilise and generate funds for organisations, including the Minnesota Freedom Fund, the Marsha P Johnson Institute, Harlem United, ACLU (American Civil Liberties Union) and the NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People).

Nina Gabbana Vintage reminded Instagram users, “This isn’t about us. It’s about a cause we all believe in, and want to help and support. The black community has been [a] victim of racism and inequality for centuries now and people need to realise that and take action against it. Raising money through a sale for donations is one way of many to help, but not the only way. Raising awareness and speaking up about what the black community is going through around us is very important too. I hope that through this sale we have the opportunity to do both.”