The Seller Series: Yana McKillop
Photo credits: Stephen Kidd
At ReSee, every one of our secondhand pieces comes with a story: perhaps that 1920s beaded gown had been in the same family for generations, while the Le Smoking suit was made by Monsieur Yves Saint Laurent for Catherine Deneuve herself. This is, in large part, thanks to our unmatched community of consignors, who have placed their inestimable trust in ReSee. In the Seller Series, industry titans and world-class collectors alike open up their archives, revealing the iconic items they parted with (and those they maybe never will).
For Yana McKillop, fashion knows no bounds. “I’m not a shoppolic per se, but I do love clothes because I love the stories that designers tell in the collections,” says the London-based stylist and fashion director of Puss Puss Magazine, whose wardrobe brims with head-turning archival treasures, from Prada’s Fall 2007 textured, two-toned wool knits to an Autumn/Winter 2015 Celine dress trimmed with flowers, feathers, and fur. (She even tracked down the matching coat.) In the past few years, however, she’s become more and more exacting in the pieces she purchases — and consigns. “As much as I like keeping things for the archive, I also like having that personal connection to my clothes and being able to actually wear them.”
Below, McKillop discusses smart shopping, secondhand thrills, and her ultimate rule for knowing when to consign.
Why are you drawn to vintage?
I would say I’m more drawn to secondhand than vintage. I made a few attempts at shopping proper vintage, but I found it quite challenging because the fit in the 50s, say, was so different from how our bodies look now. I love buying secondhand pieces from the 2000s on, though. It’s a better way to shop when you find something that’s already been bought and somebody wants to part ways with. Growing up, there were these collections that I had seen and didn’t have access to because I lived in a remote place and it was financially impossible; now, I get an absolute delight from finding those things that I was obsessing over at 15 or 16, like Phoebe Philo’s earliest Celine collections and Prada circa 2007 and 2008. I also found some pieces by Marc Jacobs for Louis Vuitton and Balenciaga by Nicolas Ghesquière.
How do you incorporate secondhand and vintage into your wardrobe and work?
I find that Celine has aged very well: you can still wear most of the pieces, and they look very relevant. With Prada, I tend to go for dressier pieces, so it’d be something that I’d go out in; dressing up is an easier way of wearing a lot of their pieces.
In terms of my work, I actually find it easier to incorporate proper vintage into editorials as opposed to say Celine by Phoebe because those pieces are so recognizable. I always feel cautious: Is it going to make sense, or will people say, ‘We know she likes Celine, so that’s why she puts it in every picture.’? But I do find that secondhand is a good way of dressing clients who are maybe not super established and not a lot of brands will lend to them; you can create a nice story by wearing something from, say, 15 or 20 years ago. A lot of people on the red carpet look quite similar now, so vintage can be a fresh point-of-view.
What are some of your favorite finds?
I have quite a big archive now of Phoebe’s Celine, including an AW15 dress with appliqué lace flowers and feather embellishments; I even found a coat with similar embellishments and fur trimmings. I’ve maybe worn them once, but they’re such treasures to have.
I also collect Prada — my favorite collection is AW07 with the crinkly materials and decorative colors going from one to another. And I love the SS14 collection, with the female portraits. For years, I was mad about this khaki coat with an embellished bra from that collection. I finally found it two years ago just before Christmas, so it was my present to myself. There are still some pieces I’m on the hunt for, though, like that AW09 slashed leather dress with embellishments, which was worn in The Great Gatsby when Prada worked with [director] Baz Luhrmann on the costumes.
Photo credits: Ophelia Wynne
Why did you start consigning?
I started consigning probably five years ago; I had accumulated quite a few bits, and I was moving around quite a lot back then. When I was shopping mostly high street brands, I donated my clothes to charity shops, but, as I moved into buying designer pieces, I felt that they still had value that I could reinvest, so I started selling some that I felt didn’t work for me or that I had grown a bit tired of. With a platform like Resee, it’s not just about getting a return on your money or getting rid of your stuff but also about giving those pieces a second life with people who can love and appreciate them.
A few years ago, I did a big charity sale on my Instagram. People started following me for that reason, and I became friends with some of them, which I found quite interesting because I didn’t think consigning or reselling, even for charity purposes, would create such a social moment and a community.
How do you decide when to part with a piece?
I’m not a shoppolic per se, but I do love clothes because I love the stories that designers tell in the collections; I get into these ideas and images and the casting and atmosphere, and I’m like, Oh my god, this is so beautiful. I want it… But it doesn’t always work, or maybe it was a very trendy thing and now I’m tired of it. I will still keep some of them, though, because I see their value in terms of design or personal attachment or my styling work.
I usually go through my wardrobe with the change of the season. Sometimes I’ll notice things that I haven’t worn in a while and realize that it’s time to part ways with them; other times, I actually make an effort to wear those pieces but then realize that they just don’t feel right. I used to be really into certain designers and had quite a few pieces from them, but a few years later I realized that they weren’t really my aesthetic anymore. I kept maybe one or two pieces for the archive because I feel some personal attachment to them, but I decided to let the others go.
As of lately, I’m trying to heavily limit what I buy because I have too much stuff. I’ve been through a stage where I couldn’t get enough of things just because I was drawn to their beauty, but now I’m like, Okay, I have a lot, and I can’t get them all. Plus, I have the privilege of working with clothes and being able to touch and experience them, so I don’t necessarily have to own them. I just want to add things that really make sense for me now. I try to limit myself to investing in a few brands — Prada, Phoebe Philo’s new brand, Bottega Veneta, and maybe a few bits from The Row — and then to rewear what I already have. I put my clothes on rotation, so I remove things that I wear all the time and force myself to wear things that I don’t put on as much.
What are some pieces that you’ve consigned?
I decided to let go of a beautiful shearling coat from Balenciaga by Nicolas Ghesquière. I kept trying to fit into it and thought, Maybe one day… But I realized that I’d never be that small and needed to let go of it. As much as I like keeping things for the archive, I also like having that personal connection to my clothes and being able to actually wear them; I’m not at the level yet of just creating an archive for purely an art statement. I actually let go of a lot of my pieces from Daniel Lee’s Bottega. Even though I still really like the earlier collections, I found that they didn’t age well for me. I’ve learned not to buy things on a whim, as I used to do more before, and I’ve started returning more pieces — if I try it on a few times and it doesn’t feel right, I’m probably not going to wear it.
What was the hardest piece to part with?
That Balenciaga coat. I was like, I can’t believe that I can’t fit into it and have to give it up.
Are there any pieces you regret giving up?
I gave up a few recent Prada pieces, like a cashmere jumper with an outline of a bra, which I felt didn't look right on me, but then I saw a few people wearing it and thought it’d be nice to have. Now, if I think something is not working for me, I try to force myself to give it a try to see how it feels [before consigning it]. In general, though, I’m happy with the majority [of the pieces I’ve consigned] going to other people who will appreciate them more.
What’s something that you’d never give up?
I don’t think I will ever part with my Celine and Prada collections; they have too much sentimental value. I love my pieces from Celine’s SS15 collection, like the linen dresses, which are so easy but still such a statement, and all my Celine coats. I also have a beautiful AW07 Prada coat with long paillette embellishments; it looks like some kind of bird. I love a statement coat. I really struggle to let go of any of my coats, and I don’t think I ever will.
as told to Zoe Ruffner
SHOP YANA'S WARDROBE
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At ReSee, every one of our vintage pieces comes with a story. This is, in large part, thanks to our unmatched community of consignors.
Though parting with such sartorial treasures may not be easy, the exceptional personal care we put into ensuring that they will go on to live a second (or, sometimes even, a third, fourth, or fifth) life offers a thrill — one rivaled only by that of the besotted shopper who adds them to her wardrobe.
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