In an unassuming room above Johnston Street in Fitzroy you’ll find Salon Archive, a designer vintage store that only stocks three brands: Jean Paul Gaultier, Vivienne Westwood and John Galliano.

Named after Westwood’s spring/summer 1992 collection, it’s an accumulation of founder Daniel Cumbo’s seven years in the vintage business. The brick-and-mortar space above indie fashion retailer Sucker is, according to Cumbo, the “most untethered, most authentic representation” of an extensive collection which features over 3000 items.

You’ll find iconic pieces like Gaultier’s ’80s conical bras, as well as his ’90s “Cyber” collection. “This is a comic book print he created that features himself as a superhero fighting Virus Man (which is the Aids epidemic) with Madonna,” says Cumbo of one miniskirt. There are also pieces from Gaultier’s Rap’sody in Blue spring/summer 1990 collection. “This was seen on Madonna in 1990, it was something she wore for the Blonde Ambition tour, which he costumed,” they say of a couple of fluorescent, zip-up hoodies.

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The intimate space feels part-boutique, part-gallery, and comprises five racks full of meticulously collected, researched and catalogued pieces from three of the most influential designers of the last century. Carefully handwritten hang tags identify the collection date, material and manufacturing details from pieces sourced both locally and internationally.

Cumbo is a natural archivist and fashion fan. “After doing this for a long time, I kind of have an instinct. I already can tell when something’s from by looking at it,” they say. “As a kid, I was always interested in clothes that were different … I remember saying the words ‘Jean Paul Gaultier’ very young.”

It was an easy decision to only stock Gaultier, Westwood and Galliano. “They all came up in the punk scene … and from a DIY [background],” says Cumbo, referring to Westwood’s chicken bone T-shirts, Gaultier’s lack of formal training and Galliano’s beginnings in club clothes. “They’re avant-garde, yes, but they’re [also] using the same codes of day-to-day streetwear. I find that particularly queer-coded.”

Similar to archive stores you’ll find in Japan or New York, Salon Archive prioritises a curated and personal experience. That’s why it opens on an appointment-only basis, where customers contact Cumbo via Instagram or email.

It’s an offering that inspires an appreciation of craftsmanship and preservation. Decades of significant fashion artefacts can be found here, ready to be touched, to be worn, to be collected, to be admired.

Salon Archive
Level 2, 63 Johnston Street, Fitzroy

Hours:
Mon–Sat by appointment, 11am–5pm

@salon.archive