We should use the word “archive” with caution
Interview with Ilaria Trame, research fellow at the Gianfranco Ferrè Research Centre
January 28th, 2025
Joan Didion, in her book The Year of Magical Thinking, after days of resistance following her husband's death, lets herself grieve only when, returning home, she sees the jacket of her deceased partner hanging and everything comes back to her: he was still there, in those clothes. As seemingly trivial as it may appear, Didion reminds us of the intangible value of clothes and their historical place in our personal stories and those of others. In today’s fashion-as-entertainment, we still love artifacts for everything they carry, a phenomenon that today takes shape through the trend of DIY fashion archives. Archives carry with them respectful attitudes that bring relief and impart emotional and economic value to a complex system materialized in shoes, jackets, shirts, ephemera, and magazines. Many venture into sharing and opening, physically or virtually, spaces that recirculate objects, leaving a trace in the history of fashion according to the curator’s personal taste. However, the scientific basis of preservation is often underestimated, which could prove useful when shaping one's activities.
Well-designed objects have a perpetual power: they can increase in value over time and be used to tell stories, as when the creative process starts from the deconstruction of an existing garment and the remixing of historical layers typical of DJs, leading to the birth of new collections. Whether vintage showrooms, research archives, corporate archives, or private collections, these memories are intricate machines operating simultaneously with the mindset of an archaeologist and a content creator. And it is precisely from the most institutional archives and collections that we must draw inspiration to make the work of recirculation more respectful of the methodologies behind handling these treasures.
Today, there are countless spaces, whether at street level or online, dedicated with growing interest to the world of second-hand luxury, treating it with the meticulous care and sophisticated storytelling typical of a research boutique. And there would be countless sections to discover, to organize, like rooms in a vast unknown mansion: the public, the private, those who attract, those who sell, and those who intertwine everything into a single gesture. All, perhaps unknowingly, united by the desire to preserve. But this preservation, one wonders, is it ever truly a fully conscious act? We asked Ilaria Trame, a Research Associate at the Department of Design at the Politecnico di Milano and a collaborator at the Gianfranco Ferré Research Center, where she works as an archivist and contributes to archive-related research projects. Trame also collaborates with the International Library of Fashion Research (ILFR) in Oslo, curated and founded by Elise By Olsen, managing and preserving a vast collection of documents, publications, and artifacts related to contemporary fashion.
What tools do you consider indispensable for your work?
As far as clothing is concerned, special mention definitely goes to gloves, the classic white cotton gloves of the archivist, extremely performative, although I often use vinyl or nitrile gloves, which ensure a better and “firmer” grip compared to cotton (not to be confused with latex, which leaves white powder). The situation changes slightly when handling books, documents, or any paper materials, as it is often risky to handle paper with gloved hands because one cannot feel the delicacy of the sheet, creating further risks for preservation – such as tearing. For these materials, an essential everyday tool is acid-free archive boxes and sleeves, also acid-free or dustproof. The archivist's basic rule is to try to preserve materials for eternity: one must do everything possible to work with this goal in mind.
Often, in the descriptions of garments present in online shops or narrated in stores, significant gaps are noticeable. How important do you think accurate and detailed descriptions of every element of a garment are?
To bring the archive to a broader audience, to open the shelves, it is necessary to be able to tell its story. Without this openness, the archive remains a simple “accumulation of things” that does not lead to new perspectives or research. The archive thus loses part of its fundamental function (the etymology of the word itself comes from the Greek archè, meaning “beginning,” “principle”). The archive must therefore be a starting point for the future. For this reason, it is crucial to know how to use the right lexicon. I believe that even if one aims for a career in archiving, or even theoretical and historical work, it is essential to have technical knowledge in the field of clothing. But this consideration opens a broader issue about our contemporary society, about speaking as informed individuals or not.
When an artifact is integrated into a museum or archival collection, its status changes radically. In your opinion, what can we learn from this process?
I believe that as archivists, especially of public collections, it is crucial to be aware of the responsibility entrusted to us. The archivist has the role of preserving an object for future generations, an object potentially imbued with a series of historical, cultural, social, and technical meanings. This richness goes beyond the mere “aesthetic” of the garment or document. All these intrinsic dynamics must therefore be known to the archivist, who must have the responsibility to communicate them and possibly problematize them for the future. In this, the archive is an extremely powerful and potentially dangerous place. In my view, everything should be archived: the difficulty then lies in activating these materials with attentive and curated perspectives.
Secondary elements of the archive, such as hangers, can make a difference in preserving a garment. Based on your experience, how would you manage garments in a DIY archive, especially regarding display?
Here too, for me, it is a matter of awareness. You need to be aware of the items you are handling and your intentions towards those objects. Many of the DIY archives that are appearing on social media lately are actually online vintage store pages that self-identify as archives simply because they preserve vintage fashion. I do not necessarily think it is wrong for an archive of this kind to use simple hangers to preserve its objects. If the perspective is not to “preserve for eternity” – as public institutions are obligated to do – but to sell an archival piece, then even IKEA hangers are fine. What I contest more is the choice of self-definition in this case. However, if the intention is to establish an institution, then rigor must be applied. It is, indeed, a matter of awareness.