This Archivist Has A Thing for Todd Oldham and Early Aughts Logo Mania

“I have a vivid memory of being with my mom in downtown Manhattan at the age of six or seven, and I saw a woman wearing a full length, red, Mongolian, curly fur coat with a hood,” Gabriel Held sets the scene for his tale. He’s sitting before me in an Emilio Pucci x Supreme silk set, a glass of prosecco in hand. “I turned to my mother and said, ‘Mom, dress me in the styles of the nineties.’ And she said, ‘Well, Gabriel, that's really more of a sixties kind of look, but point taken,’” he laughs. The archivist has always had this sort of directional inclination when it comes to collecting. We’re sitting in his Williamsburg archive that houses upwards of 2,000 pieces and curly Mongolian fur unsurprisingly takes up a fair amount of real estate as do his other cultivated interests, namely early aughts logo mania (of both the bootleg and designer varieties), an obvious reverence for the same era’s hip hop icons, and “all the Italian, lovely trash,” as he describes ‘90s Versace, Emilio Pucci, Moschino, and Roberto Cavalli. “I've always said that to me, vintage is actually more elite than anything current season,” he explains. “If you can afford it, you can buy anything current season. You have to have skills and resources in order to do a vintage look.”

Venture deeper inside Held’s Williamsburg archive and you’re met with racks upon racks of loud prints, glittering rhinestones, and blaring logos. In addition to the aforementioned brands, he collects Christian Lacroix, Blumarine, Jean Paul Galtier—are you getting the picture? “I like Prada too, but honestly it's a little highbrow for me sometimes.” One of his earliest finds is displayed like a sculpture: Converse covered in a (bootleg) Gucci logo print, which he had made for himself as a high school graduation gift. In our current seating area, real Versace pillows perch near a fake Versace tablecloth. It’s this notion of high camp, low luxury that inspires his collection—and its loyal patrons. Held supplies his treasures, predominantly by rental, to those with kindred sartorial spirits, specifically celebrity and editorial stylists. In some cases, he swaps the title archivist for stylist as he extends his own creative ideas to the subject at hand. (His mental moodboarding process you can follow along with on Instagram.)

Held is responsible for the (reworked) Betsey Johnson top for Rihanna’s Wild Thoughts music video. He consulted on Remy Ma’s “leaving jail" look. “I finally got Beyoncé after all these years,” he boasts. “Well, she wore my jewelry.” His client roster extends much further than that. ”I consider them clients if they pull. Whether they wear or not is none of my business,” he notes, “but I prefer it if they do. And if there are pictures.” From supplying to styling, the archivist has worked with the aforementioned icons in addition to Nicki Minaj, Celine Dion, all the Kardashians, the Jenners minus Kendall, Ariana Grande, Cardi B, both Hadid sisters, Lizzo, Megan Thee Stallion, Rosalía, and more. A polaroid “wall of fame” pays tribute to those guests who have taken the time to pay him an in-person visit versus simply sending their stylist (Held’s preferred manner of working).

The storage facility itself sets the scene for Held’s own creative origin story. This is where he grew up (and where he now works free of charge as his mother still owns it). Born to a family of artists, Held describes himself as a sort of failed nepo baby, at least in the art world. But the easter eggs of his future career were present even in childhood. The budding vintage connoisseur used to take his $20 weekly allowance to Domsey’s, a by-the-pound thrift store across the street, dig for consigned treasure, then mark it up and sell it to the girls at school. (Held attended a school in Brooklyn where parts of Gossip Girl were filmed.) From there, his sourcing skills blossomed. “I had this impulse to buy things that were great even if I couldn't wear them,” he explains. “And I always had a skill for sourcing things above my means without actually going into debt, the knowledge to find these things at some place like a Salvation Army or a Goodwill—and the patience.” His stylist friends began to borrow things from him and never stopped. “I did realize at a certain point I had acquired an amount that would make me a hoarder if I didn't turn it into a business,” he laughs. “It is kind of clever.” Tour Held’s archive below.