With this book, David Casavant (born 1990), stylist and founder of the eponymous clothing archive in New York, expands beyond his fashion and celebrity collaborations to produce a book of encounters between artists and the archive, along with still lifes of favorite pieces. The project is about showing how different creative people with unique voices can come together to create something special. The David Casavant Archive is a private collection of the world's rarest and most culturally potent contemporary design, with a focus on the work of conceptual menswear designers from the late '90s into the 2000s, notably Helmut Lang and Raf Simons. Begun in Casavant's native Tennessee when he was just 14, and curated over the span of more than a decade, the archive distinguishes itself through Casavant's distinct vision of youth and attitude. Although a private archive, it loans its pieces to select individuals within the sphere of current culture. For this volume, a select number of creators—including Xavier Cha, DeSe Escobar, Eric Mack, Ryan Mcnamara, Joyce NG, Raul de Nieves, Hanne Gaby Odiele, Jacolby Satterwhite, Heji Shin, Ryan Trecartin, Wu Tsang and Boychild, Stewart Uoo, Thomas Eggerer and Maggie Lee—were invited to select items from the archive to serve as an inspiration for their original works of art. David Casavant Archive is a natural extension of Casavant's vision to make fashion accessible, alive and relevant for the times. This marriage of fashion and art across various mediums is a unique, innovative approach to how we view what we wear.
