ALL ABOUT LIDOW ARCHIVE

Nov 17

Written By MERDE

Editorial and portrait photographer Paris Mumpower and fashion archivist Haile Lidow teamed up on a glamorous, Italian Vogue-esque editorial shoot with international model and it girl (and one-half of the Herbert twins) Elisha Herbert in nine stunning archival looks shot throughout Haile’s eclectic 1930s Spanish Colonial-style Hollywood home.

Wardrobe credits include Chanel, Dolce & Gabbana, Marc Jacobs, Moschino, Yves Saint Laurent, and more from LIDOW ARCHIVE - Haile’s fashion wonderland with over 7,000 contemporary and vintage designer pieces.

Photographer: Paris Mumpower

Creative Director: Haile Lidow

Stylist: Kaity Whipple

Hair: Ricky Fraser

Makeup: Ryan Styne

PA: Tyler Borchardt

Model: Elisha Herbert

*Top: AREA, Spring 2023, Bottoms: JNBY, Coat: Vintage 1970s, Shoes: DSQUARED2, Fall 2007, Belt: Vintage*

Meanwhile, MERDE founder Molly Apple meets Lidow Archive Haile Lidow for a home tour and interview about her now four-year-old business.

It’s a sunny Wednesday afternoon in the hills of Los Feliz, where Los Angeles’ glamor lives east of the Hollywood sign in an old spanish home that houses Lidow Archive. Founder Haile Lidow greets me at the wooden gate, and leads me into the foyer. I’m immediately greeted by two adorable mini fluffy pups; artful taxidermy and stunning paintings line the walls adjacent to a cheetah print chaise lounge. Already breathless, the tour begins in the living room turned ‘art room’ full of surrealist painted mannequins, yes you read that right - mannequins. Haile’s grandmother was an unbelievably talented painter, who’s memory lives on further than the art in her home space, but in her jewelry collection, Lidow Archive as well. While Haile’s fashion archive is mainly focused on clothing and shoes, she credits her heritage jewelry pieces to her mother and grandmother that she has inherited.

She welcomed me, room by room, into the Lidow Archive world. In the clothing room, she showed me a custom pants and blazer suit set made by designer Sophie Cochevelou combining pink tulle and Barbie heads. It was the cutest, not creepy at all, thing I’d ever seen. In the fur and lingerie closet, she held up a corset covered in faux grapes that Camila Cabello wore in a music video. The next room she called the ‘work room’ where a sad pair of ripped heeled Mary Jane Chanel shoes that were damaged during their rental waited to be repaired, an unfortunate occupational hazard that a vintage rental business must face. The ‘work room’ is also the home to contemporary designer BCALLA’s archive. She tells me that the independent artist is a great friend of hers, and currently lives in Mexico so she stores his pieces. I could only wish to be besties with someone who makes such bold, textural, sculptural, dynamic garments like the piece I’m eyeing on a rack in the corner that I’ve seen on Lady Gaga in Artpop. Next was the accessories room, where bags, glasses, belts and even a blunt crown live. It was only after entering the shoe room that my knees truly buckled and I just had to try on a pair of her beloved collection of Marc Jacobs Kiki Boots. One almost fatal spill later, I was back in my humble boots and retreated to a corner of miniature yet glamorous heels. Haile admits she’d collect only in her size if she could, but does maintain a dazzling shelf of 5.5-6.5 sizes which she calls her “Cardi B, Kourtney Kardashian” range. It was only after filming a few TikTok clips that we were off to her patio beyond her pink kitchen to actually conduct the interview.

Molly: How did you first enter the fashion world professionally?

Haile: I’ve literally been obsessed with fashion since day one. I’ve been going through old family photos of when I was a baby, and obviously, I wasn’t dressing myself as an infant,

… but I was always wearing an incredibly extravagant outfit with ornate designs and a matching hat, always a matching hat. As soon as I could start dressing myself, I was fully, just fully immersed in that world. I didn't know that I necessarily wanted to work in fashion, and I didn't go to school for fashion, I went to school for writing. I wasn’t sure if it was just going to be my passion, or if it was going to be both my passion and my career.

I was a pretty hardcore gymnast growing up here in Los Angeles, but then I had to quit when I got injured and I had all this like, free time my senior year of high school. I don’t know where this came from but I had the audacity to reach out to Vogue until they agreed to meet with me in their office here. They finally met with me and I started volunteering for them when I had just turned 17. That opened the door for everything for me. I then interned there full time when I was 18, and went on to work in their New York offices where I met so many amazing stylists and people that allowed me to try any job in the fashion world. I'm so grateful for that. If you work at Vogue, it opens doors. I didn’t know that at the time, and it wasn’t my goal when I started volunteering at 17.

Molly: What were other facets of the industry that you dabbled in at this young age as a Los Angeleno in NYC?

Haile: So I tried the magazine side, as a fashion assistant, mostly running around doing research, errands, getting lunch, you know, but it taught me to work really hard. It taught me to be a perfectionist and really detail-oriented in ways I hadn’t begun to think of before. We're working in an industry that's based on aesthetics, every single aesthetic matters and that's helped me greatly in building my own business. It can be easy to overlook certain details that end up going a long way, such as typos and making sure someone’s name is spelled correctly. Even silly things like if you’re putting a Post-It note on something, making sure that it’s straight.

Molly: What led you to pursue starting your own business?

Haile: After Vogue, I started working for stylists. I thought I wanted to be a stylist. I still love styling, though I’m selective about what jobs I take. I even worked at a PR company for a bit, where I learned a lot about the other side of the industry – providing clothes to the people that I had previously been working for. That directly impacted how I run my business now because I have an understanding of the needs of the people that I'm lending to, as well as the showroom end, which is like one part of what I'm doing here with Lidow Archive. This gathering of experiences plays a part into what I've created here and continues to play into that on a daily basis.

Molly: What ultimately is the business ethos for Lidow Archive after the amalgamation of all these experiences?
Haile: After seeing how the industry works from the inside, especially right before things started changing with internships, I knew how important the demand for retaining boundaries and respect for the young people in this industry is. I was exposed to how overly serious people can take fashion, while missing the point in the playfulness. I’ve always seen fashion as a fun way to express yourself, while other businesses can very easily and understandably get caught up in the cachet of it all.

*Coat: Vintage 1980's Lina Lee, Skirt: Vintage 1960s Lilli, Belt (worn as top): Vintage, Boots: Chanel, Watch: Vintage Obery, Watch: Vintage*

*Romper: Antique 1890s, Belt: Vintage Dolce & Gabbana, Shoes: Dolce & Gabbana, Earrings: Alexis Bittar*

Molly: You have this huge collection of Marc Jacobs Kiki Boots, in multiple heights, which you taught me are called the Lily and the ___. What are some designers are you obsessed with and want to build more in your archive?

Haile: I love Moschino. I wish I could go inside Franco Moschino’s brain for one day. There are a lot of pieces that I try to find of his, which is where it gets hard because if I do happen to come across some of his iconic pieces, they're a fortune to buy and don’t necessarily translate into something that could be rentable. I can’t justify the cost because I wouldn’t make it back in rentals anytime soon. That’s where the art plays in, sometimes I have to figure out how to balance the art and business. I'm always kind of trying to complete my Moschino collection, and I'll never be able to, and I love that. I love that I'll never be able to complete it.

I definitely go through phases of randomly getting obsessed with things, not just designers, but categories of pieces. In the 70s there was this big movement of dresses made out of towel material. I love that fabric, I live in them all summer. Anytime I’m going to a pool party, I’ll wear one of these dresses because it's like a towel, and a napkin, and a dress all at the same time. It's everything I need. I become obsessed with acquiring every one of them that I can possibly find on the internet. Collecting really just depends on my mood and what inspires me at the time.

Molly: How do you stray from trends and follow your intuition?

Haile: I never follow trends. I’m not above them. I get penetrated by the trends constantly. It’s funny because sometimes I’ll organically just be really late to a trend, something that'll be popular for a long time that I initially was in no way interested in, but then all the sudden when it’s not cool or cutting edge anymore, then all the sudden find myself wearing it. *laughs* I'm like, oh my god, like, how did this happen? I typically find inspiration with clothes from things that have nothing to do with clothes. I love furniture and interiors, sometimes I'll find a fabric that's on a couch, and I'll be inspired by that, or a certain style of photography.

*Jacket: Vintage, Jacket (under): Vintage PAP KIK, Vest: Vintage Moschino Cheap & Chic, Bottoms: Vintage Don’t Stop,Shoes: Marc Jacobs, Fall 2012, Handbag: Contemporary*

Molly: I’m sure there are times as a business owner, as you said, that are hard and make you feel like giving up. The world is a messed up place right now, and fashion isn’t curing the world, but what are ways that keep you mentally afloat and buoy your spirit to keep collecting?

Haile: The concept of joy is something that I've been thinking about a lot recently. I've had a pretty heavy year with a lot of loss in my personal life, it can be really easy to sink with that. With everything else going on in the world, I really start to question, ‘why am I focusing on something that is an art form and not saving lives, not as seemingly important.’ You have to choose joy on a moment-to-moment basis. I don't think that anything in this world can possibly heal without joy; And for me specifically, a lot of my joy comes from clothes and fashion and everything that's with it. Colors are huge for me. It’s really easy to go down a dark hole, and I’m actively choosing not to, even if it’s just making dinner in my pink kitchen.

Molly: Without diving too far into the future and out of the joy of the now, what is a goal that you have for Lidow Archive?

Haile: I’m definitely looking towards the future, as a business owner, it’s important, especially with everything going on this year in the entertainment industry with the strikes, it’s forced me to shift perspectives. For me personally, the fact that I was so vulnerable to something like this happening, exposed a lot of cracks in my business model. It’s forced me to rethink things. I’ve been open for four years now, and I think it’s time to expand into new facets. One of my goals is to be able to bring in more of these independent designers into my showroom - I want to be able to support them and build that budget to buy their pieces. In order to do that, I might need to start selling some pieces, while before I was a big stickler for renting only. I want to give pieces a forever home, and I’m somehow running out of space *laughs*. I also think sometimes you need to let things go in order to bring things in. That’s something that I’m focusing on incorporating into my business model. I’m excited, but terrified!

*Dress: Vintage 1990s Roberto Cavalli, Shoes: Marc Jacobs, Watch: Vintage Adela, Earrings: Vintage*

*Jacket: Vintage 1980's Claude René, Pants: Vintage 2000's Equestrian, Skirt: Vintage, Tie: Vintage Moschino, Shoes: Marc Jacobs, Resort 2018*

*Bra: Vintage 1950s, Coat: Vintage 1980's Gerard Babin*

*Shoes: Marc Jacobs, Ring: Bernard Delettrez*

I wanted to create a safe, fun, playful space to hold a collection of clothes that truly speak to someone; someone who's wearing clothes to have a good time and express themselves, not necessarily because it has a designer label on it. Obviously I have tons of designer pieces, but that's never why I choose them. It's always based on what it’s saying to me. (we want to speak that language)

It was also important to me to create a business where people could actually come in, be inspired, feel seen and heard and taken care of instead of perpetuating this stereotypical fearful and elitist mentality that the fashion industry can hold. It’s the same for the people on my team, I want it to be a place of enjoyment, where they're heard, opposite of the mentality you must fight your way up - which is how I first experienced the fashion world, and how a lot of other people have. Once you get treated badly, it's really easy to then treat other people badly once you gain that power. I think that's where this industry has gone wrong many times. It is changing, I am seeing a shift, and I'm happy to do everything I can to be a part of bringing the fashion industry back to its roots of just being this beautiful art form. We're not saving lives, we're not curing the world. It's art; it’s incredibly important and it's healing, but it’s not dire.

Molly: You’ve experienced both the LA fashion scene, as well as NYC. How do you see the fashion world morphing and differing in its value of geographic cities?

Haile: I think I like LA better… I love New York, I will always love New York, but I do kind of feel like LA is coming into its own being a fashion hub. It's always shifting. There's always kind of a center location where fashion is really booming and I personally believe right now we're entering into an age of dominance being in like Italy and LA. Milan Fashion Week is the new ‘it ‘Fashion Week. I love Italian brands because they have such a sense of humor and they’re not taking themselves too seriously. And I do think that a lot of creatives are also moving to LA from New York.

Molly: Your archive is a true collection of art. You mentioned previously that 60% is vintage, while 40% is designer, how do you decide which designers you want to invest your business in?

Haile: It's honestly arbitrary. I go into these holes, usually on Instagram, but sometimes in boutiques that I like, and finding all these smaller independent designers and thinking, ‘Oh, my God, they really have something to say.’ I would like to get to a point where I have more of a spending budget for purchasing item because I think that a lot of these designers, especially the younger independent designers, they're not always buying into the idea of inflating their prices just to be on a certain luxury level, which a lot of the high designers are doing. Many designers admit it, they race their prices just to seem more elite, and that’s why many luxury brands are making so much money now. It costs a lot of money to do things well, so I don’t like asking for discounts with smaller designers because they deserve to be paid for their work.

It’s more straightforward with the vintage, it just kind of comes to me. With designers, it’s more of a random search. I think a lot of people think that I only carry vintage, and that’s something that I’m trying to showcase more, that I’m more than that. I want designers to know I can carry their pieces. I’ve recently become obsessed with Korean designers.I’d love to be able to buy more of their pieces, especially because there's no way that many overseas designers aren't going to benefit from having pieces based in the US, so it would kind of be like a mutually beneficial experience. A lot of younger stylists who aren't necessarily working with big budgets, so they’re not able to pay a fortune to have pieces shipped from places like Korea and dually, smaller Korean designers aren't able to pay to have pieces shipped to the United States.

*Bra: Contemporary, Top: Vintage Beluva, Shorts: Junya Watanabe Comme des Garçons, Earrings: Vintage, Eye Ring: Bernard Delettrez, Watch Ring: Vintage Seiko, Stole: Vintage*

Molly: I can definitely see how it all ties together being inside your home. How has your family and roots impacted what makes Lidow Archive so special?

Haile: I don't know where I would be or who I would be without both the influences of my paternal grandmother, and my mom. They both had their own very unique, eccentric aesthetics, and they were not afraid to express them. This instilled a confidence in me from a young age, to wear whatever I want, decorate my house the way that I want, and express myself the way I want. They made me unafraid of going against the grain, and I'm very grateful for that.

My grandmother was a surrealist artist, and she was out of her fucking mind in so many ways. Even just the way that she spoke, it was like she was from another planet, very whimsical, not grounded in this earth. She was incredibly inspiring to me, and passed to me the value of being unique instead of the same. As a kid growing up, it's really easy to just want to fit in, but I learned that I didn't have to. Overall, being around a lot of powerful women really changed things for me. My mom was a trial attorney in the 80s, badass. I have lots of 80s power suits in my archive.

It’s a kind of energy, not giving in to the status quo, and nothing that I'm doing here is the status quo. Sometimes that's hard, but it’s worth it.