Every third Sunday of the month, a vibrant antique market comes alive at Veterans Stadium in Long Beach, where vintage enthusiasts gather to buy, sell, and discover unique treasures. One of the familiar faces in the crowd is Bob Melet, a seasoned vintage buyer with over three decades of experience.
Melet operates his own booth while simultaneously hunting for vintage pieces to cater to his clients and his store in Montauk, NY. During a recent 30-minute stroll through the market, he picked up a pair of vintage aviator sunglasses, a mesh crop top for a musician he knows, and several well-loved shirts, all while navigating through an eclectic mix of clothing, jewelry, furniture, and curiosities.
His extensive background in the vintage fashion world began in the early ‘90s as the lead vintage buyer for Ralph Lauren. At that time, Ralph Lauren was establishing his Americana brand, RRL, which fueled the modern fashion industry’s growing fascination with vintage. Melet recalls, “The word ‘vintage’ in 1993 wasn’t really understood as it pertained to clothing, because it was a very, very, very small niche thing … at Melrose Avenue in Los Angeles or the Rose Bowl Flea Market. Ralph immediately took it to the highest level.”
This shift marked a significant turning point in how vintage clothing was perceived, prompting an influx of buyers from major brands who scour Los Angeles’s vintage racks for inspiration for new lines.
Fashion trends that include band tees, faded jeans, and vintage workwear capture a rare essence that is difficult to replicate with newer garments. This ongoing interaction between vintage finds and contemporary fashion trends has led to the emergence of new designs—such as brand new jeans mimicking a ‘70s flare cut, or even nostalgic hats that reappear on market racks long after their original release.
According to Melet, his insights into vintage fashion were a hot commodity. He established showrooms in both New York and Topanga Canyon, where he curated stunning displays to capture the attention of the design industry.
“I created storyboards and beautiful rigged mannequins, and each area had its own fixturing and feeling,” says Melet, illustrating how he presented these vignettes to designers at large. Their influence paved the way for contemporary collections inspired by his carefully curated vintage styles.
Among those inspired by vintage fashion is Susan Lee, a designer who initially worked under Adriano Goldschmied, the founder of Diesel. Lee shares her experiences: “My collection has traveled all over the world with me to get wash inspiration, fabric inspiration. I mean, look how geeky that is. We’re geeks, you know?”
At the Rose Bowl, Connor Gressit operates a vintage booth where he regularly encounters buyers from major fashion brands, reaffirming the connection between vintage dealers and modern fashion. Gressit recounted one experience: “The very first time that I was cognizant of a brand buying something off of me to reproduce was when a fellow from a major brand in LA came to my booth. He bought a mohair cardigan, saying, ‘Yeah, we’re going to reproduce these. And I think they’re going to be a hit.’”
This incident, however, is not without its ethical dilemmas. Gressit has expressed his conflicted feelings towards the fashion industry while still relying on brands that pay top dollar for vintage pieces. “I believe that industrial manufacturing is like an extremely evil thing, and there’s no need to make any more new s**t at all,” he stated.
Despite the tensions that may arise, the vintage and modern fashion worlds are deeply intertwined. All vintage clothing once existed as new items, and any new clothing that endures through time eventually transitions into the vintage category. As Melet navigates this complex intersection of style, the influence of the past persists in shaping contemporary fashion today.
image source from：kcrw
