The Archive is Our Biggest Asset

Our culture is currently in the midst of an archival revival. People across industries are grappling with how to make use of the archive in ways that feel current, cool, and that push creativity forward. The logical evolution of our culture’s ongoing preoccupation with nostalgia, this interest in the archive as a source of aesthetic material and a site of cultural discourse is emerging across a gamut of creative industries. Audiences have begun to see the value of preservation, evidenced by the uproar of discovery+ removing shows from its streaming services; and the value of paying homage to the greats who’ve paved the way, such as the excitement surrounding samples like Robin S’s Show Me Love and Moi Renee’s Miss Honey in Beyoncé’s Renaissance. Amidst this growing consumer interest, brands are realizing the value of the archive and seeking to create their own, like Pokémon, who recently advertised a job listing for an in-house archivist. From albums and fashion campaigns, to social media pages and editorial projects, we’ve decided to connect the dots and take a closer look at our culture’s turn to the archive.

Social media has offered a solution to a longstanding issue with archives: that of preserving the nuance, ephemera, and complexities of culture in real time. Creators have easily verified records of the work that they’ve produced, but with that explosion of documentation and information, the archive, with its ability to impose order and logic on otherwise incomprehensible amounts of information, becomes all the more vital. These curatorial archival practices inevitably lead to questions such as: Who and what deserves a place in the historical record? Who receives credit for creative products, and to what degree is an archive a reliable source of historical truth?

Fashion is an industry where creating, referencing, and pulling from archives is common practice. The archive has always served as inspiration for designers, establishing an aesthetic lineage across generations of creatives at fashion houses. Archival fashion has been a defining trend of the last year, with some brands reissuing iconic styles that have gone viral, showing that the archive can influence what we produce today. There is a genuine creative power to the archive that can bring heritage brands new popularity amongst younger audiences. 

The archive can serve not only as creative inspiration, but also as an indication of the direction a company is heading in. Earlier this year, Ralph Lauren announced a collection in collaboration with Morehouse and Spelman Colleges, two historically Black colleges in Atlanta. The collection and campaign imagery were inspired by archival photographs from the colleges, with the campaign shot on both campuses, featuring models scouted from the universities’ staff and students. This project shows how archival material can reposition a brand identity and produce innovative, meaningful partnerships. 

Turning to the archive is a logical evolution in the world of marketing. Nostalgia became advertising’s most valuable commodity, dominating visual styles and influencing brand strategy across the board. The “museumification” trend a few years ago personified this early interest in viewing history and pop culture as intertwined. Thus, pulling from the archive can establish a brand’s legacy and its cultural context, demonstrate a brand’s long-term vision of itself, and stir creative inspiration that can help frame its past and its present. We’re interested to see how the events sphere can begin to incorporate this practice, creating and curating an archive of experience that gives a historical significance to how we get together.

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