Not to be misled by the name, American vintage is a French clothing brand designed for modern urban life. Founded in 2005 by Michaël Azoulay, the brand proposes a modified wardrobe of elevated basics combined with vintage references, inspired by Michaël Azoulay’s trip to the United States in the early 2000s. The brand’s existing pieces mix Californian cool with South of France flair.
A decade after launching, American vintage expanded from initially just... Read More
Not to be misled by the name, American vintage is a French clothing brand designed for modern urban life. Founded in 2005 by Michaël Azoulay, the brand proposes a modified wardrobe of elevated basics combined with vintage references, inspired by Michaël Azoulay’s trip to the United States in the early 2000s. The brand’s existing pieces mix Californian cool with South of France flair.
A decade after launching, American vintage expanded from initially just women’s t-shirts to selling full women’s and men’s ready-to-wear collections and accessories. They have 52 own-brand stores around the world and 1,310 wholesale stockists, 82 of which are in the UK.
Style over fashion
American vintage believes in the power of letting its high-quality everyday staples speak for themselves, adopting a seasonless approach to style and a strong case for ignoring trends. The brand is in the process of becoming more sustainable, wanting to adopt natural production methods that are both environmentally friendly and fashion-forward.
The mantra of American Vintage is ‘redefined basics’, with a passion to create clothing made to last, while still incorporating the natural french elegance of the brand. American Vintage aims to create fashion pieces that adapt to every personality and every style while remaining unique. They have a flair for natural silhouettes and aim at simplicity, sensuality, lightness, and sheer effects.
NYC: American Vintage’s first flagship store in the US
American Vintage opened up its first flagship store in New York- this was a full-circle moment for Michaël Azoulay as the inspiration for American vintage first came to him when he was traveling around America. Located at 237 Elizabeth Street, this new store was designed by Elsa Ascione, an architect working in-house for American Vintage. The store showcases all of the brand’s womenswear and menswear cult classics and accessories lines.
Who is the American Vintage woman/man?
Founder Michaël Azoulay would describe the American Vintage woman as “Free, artistic and strong. She is her own person before the product, the product does not make her. She’s a woman who is sensitive to materials, texture, colours and attuned to her emotional sense.” He would also describe the American Vintage man as “Sophisticated, confident, bold, likes to play, and has a nonchalant careless side. He is playful, likes to tease, and is provocative.” (I-D UK).
Inspiration for American vintage
Azoulay drew inspiration for American Vintage from how people behaved and how they moved when they were traveling. He tries to look ahead and understand what people want at different points in their life, he believes collections need to adapt to the long-term and not be fast fashion designs. American Vintage’s priority is creating long-lasting, timeless, and fashionable products, as when it comes to their day-to-day habits, people will buy less but better.
Years after it first launched, American Vintage has now become more than just a clothing line, not just known for its high-quality t-shirts and fabrics, but is now also known for the sense of community it promotes within the creative industries.
