Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the last five years, you’ll know that archive fashion is now very big business. What started out as the obsession of a certain set of fashion fans – who steadily collected personal holy grails over time – soon trickled down to the red carpet, where everyone from Addison Rae to Zendaya and Miley Cyurs got in on the act, flexing their bottomless budgets with rare finds and archive pulls. Though those celebs often have unfettered access to fashion’s treasure trove via their superstar stylists, us plebs have to make do with traipsing through second-hand archive markets – but that’s usually where the magic happens anyway.
This past weekend, Second Life Markets held its first event of 2025, where archive obsessives gathered in East London’s Dalston to snap up some vintage designer finds. It probably won’t shock you to learn this, but London’s best street style is now at these archive fashion markets. Second Life not only attracts the UK capital’s best dressed, but grail hunters are known to fly in from New York and Paris, just to hit up this specific market. Just ask Moschino creative director Adrian Appiolaza and bestie Ryan Benacer, who were pictured at the event on Saturday (and also run their own fashion archive, 20age). Or maybe ask the teens in Isabel Marant wedges rifling through the Chrome Hearts jewellery tray. Or ask the gingham-clad cowboy in statement sunnies puffing on a vape. Or – even better yet – take a look at the best-dressed punters snapped throughout the day.
Scroll through the gallery above to see all the Second Life street style, and revisit our tour of Alexander Fury’s fashion archive below.
