“Come for the Fashion, Stay for Me”
An interview with gabriel held

Fecund reached out to “Instagram’s foremost fashion historian,” stylist, vintage dealer, amateur MC, and bastion of aughts pop culture, Gabriel Held, with some pressing questions about icons, vintage finds, the Instagram numbers game, and New York City’s influence on creativity and identity. Owner of Gabriel Held Vintage, Held has largely shepherded the resurgence of Instagram’s hyper-curated obsession with niche fashion figures of the recent past.

fecund magazine: Tell us about how you began collecting vintage—how old were you, what was your first major piece?

Gabriel Held: I can’t pinpoint the moment that I became a collector, but an early memory is perusing a flea market in Brooklyn. I was probably 11 years old, and already obsessed with fashion. I found an Anna Sui Kewpie doll tee that was either five or ten dollars—which would’ve been my whole allowance at the time. I don’t think I actually purchased that one, but I definitely sent a girlfriend to get it for herself. Within a year or two, I’d be buying those things for myself.

What’s your favorite piece in your collection? What piece are you dying to own?

The Louis Vuitton Murakami mink waist bag is my white whale! As far as my favorite piece in the collection, that’s a real Sophie’s choice. It’s probably my Todd Oldham runway samples from the nineties—they were worn in his shows and just feel like important cultural relics.

A resurgence of hip-hop-inspired aughts fashion is happening, and your styling is at the forefront. How does it feel to collaborate with icons of 2000s fashion?

It is surreal that I’ve been able to work with a lot of my heroes, like Lil’ Kim and Foxy Brown. I generally use the litmus test: What would my younger self think of my life today? And I think he’d be pleased. That being said, I’m always trying to expand my horizons. I recently made a list of 100 people I’d like to collaborate with, and within a week of writing it, I got one. My grandfather once told me, “Your definition of success will never be static, it will always move relative to your accomplishments,” and I find that to be true.

Your Instagram also acts as an archive of the top “unsung sheroes of fashion,” including icons ranging from PJ Harvey to Kelis. Who are your favorite unsung sheroes? Who are the over-sung sheroes of fashion?

Some of my favorite Unsung Sheroes would probably be Debi Mazar, Kelis, LisaRaye, Lori Petty, Lady Miss Kier (with whom I have worked, but the project has never been released), Ananda Lewis, Thalia, Julie Brown...I guess I love them all! I’m not sure who is over-sung, but I do think the fashion industry could stand to showcase a little more variety in icons who served as inspiration.

The people you dress are singular and iconic, in style and personality. When you begin styling a new client, what’s the first question you ask? How do you honor the client’s personal style while always relating it back to your own ethos?

When I work with a client, the process is highly collaborative. Generally, we start by having a seat, chatting, and getting to know each other a little bit. Making people feel comfortable is important to me—it fosters openness and collaboration. I generally ask the client what they want to look like, and tell them what I see in them. Sometimes, if I am doing creative direction on a shoot, I will look at the subject and pick two disparate people they remind me of, and try to synthesize something new between those two and the client themselves.

What’s one trend you want to see die? What’s one trend you wish would return?

It’s difficult to pinpoint a trend I would like to see die. I generally have an adverse reaction to something becoming trendy, which is unfortunate because so many of the things I love have become so mainstream, like the nineties/aughts, designer monogram, two-piece outfits. I suppose I wouldn’t mind not seeing another Off-White belt. I also wouldn’t mind seeing fewer Louboutins. 

What is an “undersung” vintage establishment we should visit? 

Gabriel Held Vintage!

We love your drag-rap persona, MC Baby G Shock. How does MC Baby G Shock relate back to your business and styling practice—who is she, as a client? What looks inspire her?

In her infancy, Baby G Shock served a less-polished look. In the past couple years, I’ve realized that I am an advertisement for my business, so I must showcase the goods! The primary concern is sizing restrictions, as the majority of my archive is in the sample size range, and I am not. So, what fits is the first principle. She generally wants to look slutty, and flashy, and, whenever possible, expensive. From a beauty point of view, I guess she’s inspired by people like Pamela Anderson and Bridget Bardot—classic blonde bombshells. Stylistically, though, she’s more inspired by Lil’ Kim, of course, in part because she is such an embodiment of the mixing of hip-hop fashion and “high” fashion. 

You’ve posted about losing followers after posting MC Baby G Shock performances. Does the pressure of the Instagram numbers game get to you? How do you find balance in posting personal content and acting as an archive of fashion history?

In this age, Instagram numbers are currency, so those statistics do get to me sometimes, especially because the algorithm makes it so difficult to know who’s actually seeing what I post. In terms of losing followers due to certain kinds of posts, it’s frustrating, but I consider it thinning the herd—getting rid of people who don’t understand what I’m about in my audience. It’s funny because people talk to me most about the videos, but they don’t always perform as well as my other posts. I think people respond to the earnestness of me going for it genuinely. I’m doing what I’ve always done in the mirror, just broadcasting it, and that can be pretty real. Also, humor always plays a role in my performances. I’ve been advised by publicists and branding strategists (although I don’t work with anybody) about the importance of posting more personal content, and understanding that I am my brand. I guess the ideal follower comes for the fashion and stays for me.

What’s the role of New York in your endeavors—of curating vintage in New York, of styling in New York?

New York is a huge part of my identity. The exposure to information alone helped define my sensibility. The neighborhood I grew up in, in Brooklyn, was very unique in my youth. South Williamsburg was still very industrial and sparsely populated. The sex worker on my corner inspired me, and so did the girls with whom I rode the public bus who epitomized what was then called “ghetto fabulous,” the private school princesses at my school, and the art world mavens I grew up around. I’ve always lived in very diverse places, and all kinds of cultures inspired me. From Amanda Lepore and Sophia Lamar working at Patricia Field to the unsung shero I saw on Flatbush in a matching orange Fendi suit and a golden finger wave, my sensibility is truly informed by my environment growing up. That kind of intersectionality is the essence of what I love about New York.