Los Angeles has no past. It hasn’t been around for centuries, like most major cities, only for decades. Yet, these decades have witnessed major changes in fashion styles and created trends that have revolutionized the way people dress globally. At the vanguard of these changes in the City of Angels, and in a way, at the rearguard, too, sits Cameron Silver. His aptly named store Decades, on Melrose, brought sophisticated fashion to a city suffering from a lack of it and gave vintage its credibility when it was still looked down upon as second hand shopping.
“We were such a non-important city for fashion,” remembers Cameron Silver when thinking about the late 90s and the first few years of the new century. “I think the emergence of vintage on the red carpet, fashion designers coming to shop here and editorials being shot in LA changed things. It was nice being part of that moment. The timing was good, in LA, to do a more curated vintage store that was about glamour. Decades was part of that return to glamour in LA, not just for celebrities, but for people in general. My whole life has been about recycling! I always like things with a history, and I like to make a new history. Things have changed, LA’s a fashion and retail destination now. The LA look, casual athleisure, is all you see - unfortunately! I was just looking at Valentino’s website… it’s just sweats that say ‘VLTN.’ It’s just like Malibu weekend wear!”
During the last twelve months, Cameron did something new, he took Decades on the road. “I’ve always done trunk shows, but the pop-up concept really started in May of last year,” he explains. “It was pretty brutal in LA, everything shut down. I had an opportunity to spend a month in Hawaii. It was a huge hit. People were very hungry for a visceral connection with anybody. I’m a good storyteller. It’s a concept that really works: it has the vintage from Decades, but then I’ve also invited about thirty designers from around the world who are either sustainable practitioners, upcyclers or doing very limited collections. I’m introducing them to a pretty good clientele. It’s not bad. I’m spending a week in Aspen right now! I do Palm Beach, Montecito, Memphis, etc. Everybody wants me to do a two or three-day pop-up! And I get to bring it to Palm Springs!”
Growing up in Southern California, Cameron Silver does have some deep connection to the Valley, even if he hasn’t been here in a while. “I haven’t been to Palm Springs in a long time, it’s been nearly 15 years,” he reveals. “I’m looking forward to going. I remember spending 4th of July 1976, the 200th anniversary of America there as a child. My best friend Patrick grew up in Palm Springs. He doesn’t live there full time anymore. I always used to be there a lot as a kid in college, and for my store, initially, it was a really good resource for vintage shopping. I bought great stuff there. Growing up in LA, it was a popular place to visit, it’s just two hours away. For me, Palm Springs has always been about architecture. I love older people – in Palm Springs, they’re older and active. They’re a little bit more mature, but also life-affirming: they’re living great lives!”
Cameron Silver will appear with his pop-up store at the Desert Vintage Collective, which debuts on March 26, 2022 on the grounds of the prestigious Imago Galleries in Palm Desert, California. He will also be signing copies of his book Decades: A Century Of Fashion. This show and sale is a one-of-a-kind luxury fashion experience, including the best in designer vintage fashion, jewelry, and accessories surrounded by world-class art.
Imago Galleries
45-450 California 74
Palm Desert, CA 92260
Decades
8214 Melrose Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90046
www.decadesinc.com
Tel: 323 655 1960
Cameron Silver’s fashion decades in 3 words each
-1960s: Baby Doll, Pixie, Leggy
-1970s: Diaphanous, asymmetrical, fluid
-1980s: Broad, excessive, statement
-1990s: Minimalist, anonymous, utilitarian
-2000s: Vintage, retro, remixed… I always say the first decade of the century is the “decades’ decades!”
-2010s: Universal, accessible, environmentally disastrous!
-2020s (prediction): It’s all about contradictions. It’s comfort, yet it’s all about luxury. It’s urban, yet it’s country. It’s fast, yet it’s slow. But I hope that this becomes the conscious decade.
