When Richard Ives and Brian Bennett opened up their first store in a 1930s house in Woodstock, it was like a glorious fashion hideaway the duo tended to on the low. Wonder in on a good day and you might have found Isabella Rossellini casually flipping through the racks (the vintage Rossellini Vogue covers in the store for customer inspiration are all signed by the lady herself), even though Ives modestly describes their Upstate debut as more of a dummy run. Having decamped to Orchard street a couple of months ago, the new space has all the treasured, vintage charm of the old one with the added fashion fine tuning required for the city. Thankfully, that part of the curatorial magic comes as second nature to Ives who has worked with the likes of Avedon and has more than 20 years in the business as a stylist and editor.
The space is conveniently split in two with the store’s eponymous collection occupying one half and vintage art and fashion finds in the other. What’s nice about Pilgrim is how awesomely these rooms compliment each other—rare vintage pieces like deep purple Yves Saint Laurent woolen pants, Courrèges sunglasses or 4th century Korean ceramics are a foil to Ives' rich, textured designs. There are gorgeous Pilgrim devore blouses, cheeky diaphanous floral dresses, thigh-skimming bubble dresses and tons of tons of great prints. Ives' fabric choices give a nod to the past but the label's silhouettes are all decidedly modern. Like the best kind of curators, the duo have made a point of offering a little something for everyone, whether it’s a pair of $20 vintage Foster Grant sunnies, a $200 dress from their own line of these amazing vintage floral Ungaro pants (pictured below) that we ran away with.
Pilgrim is located at 70 Orchard street, NYC.
