Kerry Bonnell’s Secret? Hold onto Your Purses
Texas, although seemingly hidden to the face of couture, already boasts a seasoned walk. Under its jewel-encrusted cowboy belt, the state holds designer Tom Ford from its capital, the first Neiman Marcus store in Dallas and Beyonce’s reign in Houston. Now, under a nondescript office address on South Congress Avenue in Austin, there lurks an archive fashion dealer, and she’s selling the good stuff.
Kerry Bonnell clarifies she’s a mother first before she seats herself in front of a comically large Miffy bunny plush, shifting her attention from her laptop to her text threads with celebrity stylists. She’s a one-woman business, and she prefers it that way.
Bonnell founded ARCHIVE in 2006, her own digital catalog of vintage designer ranging from ready-to-wear to haute couture to some serious neck and arm candy. Over the next decade, she continued to grow her clientele online and occasionally stock pieces in luxury boutiques like Forty Five Ten in Dallas. That was until she ran into stylist Nini Nguyen at the counter in the original Neiman’s in 2019, and together they turned up the heat in the most unexpected way.
With a baby. Rihanna’s baby.
The singer would soon announce her pregnancy on a stroll through Harlem, framing her bump with a pink puffer and a Christian Lacroix necklace that Bonnell sourced. Another look she found for the expecting was a sheer, black Gucci dress with a crystal logo print.
Just nine months after the Grammy Award-winning singer from Barbados welcomed her first child, a worldwide audience of 112 million watched Rihanna float above the field of the 57th SuperBowl. Dressed in an all-red ensemble down to her pair of Margiela x Solomon sneakers, she commanded an army of dancers through Bitch Better Have My Money. As cameras began to pan closer to the field, fans noticed the singer sporting a new accessory. Another baby bump.
Seated next to her own family, Bonnell tipped her hat. This mom wasn’t slowing her stride, and nor would she.
TIANI NELSON: What brought you to the Lone Star State?
KERRY BONNELL: Well, I met somebody from Texas and got married. I went to Parsons and while in New York, I decided I didn't want to spend the rest of my life there. I mean, there's no room for family. I really wanted to come to Austin, but his family was in Dallas, so we ended up there for about seven years. I did open a store there, so I was kind of tied to it until the building we were in was selling. Dallas had a ton of vintage, so it's a little sad not to be right there. But I do love Austin, it's better for my family.
TN: How did the cities differ?
KB: Dallas is very put together. People are walking their dogs in fur coats and everything's very how you look. New York is more just trying to get by. I’m just not really a flashy person. You know, I don't wash my car all the time! Austin is more my vibe.
TN: You're a parent now. How early does fashion sense or education begin?
KB: Because I'm so interested in fashion, my daughter loved it before she even realized what I did. She assesses in such a specific way how she wants to dress or how she wants to wear it. She has comments on everything I ever put on. “Oh my gosh!” or “Not into it”, or “I kind of like the outfit today.” I mean even since she was like two. Once she realized what I was doing, she was like, “It's vintage.” Then she’s like, “Can I have this bag? What about this jewelry? Can I keep this? This necklace?” She's already asking.
TN: I wonder how soon until Rihanna and A$AP’s kids will realize this. Were you the same way when you were younger?
KB: One hundred percent. When I grew up in Long Island we had the mall, that's about it. Everything there was the same, and so very early on, I would try to wear my mom's clothes. None of her stuff was
appropriate for me. It was work clothes and big shoes or dresses a different size than I was. She let me wear whatever I wanted all the time. It was so great. And weird. My grandfather's jackets, or my dad’s, whatever I could wear. But I loved it. I just wanted to be different, you know? So that's when I started making her drive me to the Salvation Army to just find something different. I'd buy work pants. I mean, she must have thought I was nuts.
TN: Can you describe the moment you decided to start archiving? What piece touched that off?
KB: It wasn't like, I have to do this. Everything I bought for myself I wore, and I wore it till it fell apart. It wasn't like I was saving anything. When I moved to Dallas, I was buying for vintage stores in New York and LA. I ended up having so much that I couldn't keep it all. I was like, well maybe I should just do this. I'll just do it online and see what happens, and sure enough, it was great right away. I mean, our first year we were in the Vogue shopping guide for best vintage and there were only two or three stores in the whole country! So I feel like it was the right move.
TN: What does your shopping process look like?
KB: Sometimes I get invited to shop a closet before sale or most of the time collectors contact me. If somebody has a Japanese collection or Chanel, they'll reach out to me, or it kind of finds me.
TN: How big is your archive and what does it look like?
KB: I have a studio. The thing is, it's so disorganized. We just had awards season, so I usually try to keep everything in bags and there's racks. We have boxes of accessories and jewelry, but it's a bit of a mess because it's been really busy. I deal with a lot of stylists, so I'm always shipping stuff for people to try and things are coming in and out all the time. But it's like thousands of pieces.
TN: Do you have a holy grail item you’re searching for?
KB: I just got asked about my dream dresses that I want to see on the runway or red carpet this year. I don't know if I've ever really thought, “I wish I had that dress.” I feel like it's more of the surprise element for me. Like this one woman sent me all this crazy Margiela and it was nuts. I mean, it was like, dream things. Things that I couldn't imagine even having. It's more about, “What am I going to find?”
TN: How has archiving affected your view of the fashion industry?
KB: I feel like we're always referencing the past. I mean, which is great. I feel like if you need inspiration, I say, yeah, why not? I deal with tons of designers, I’m sure I’d want inspiration too. It's tough trying to crank out new stuff all the time. Vintage can be so expensive now, especially designer vintage. So I understand, we can't just fill our closets with vintage, but I would love to see more recycling and more reusing. And I do think the younger kids are doing that. I feel like they get it. A lot of older clients are like, “Oh, this is used.” There’s like a stigma to it.
TN: What was the awards season like for you?
KB: I had a few people. Somebody at the Oscars, and I shipped a ton of stuff for the Grammy’s and after-party stuff. Then Fashion Week. I mean, it's like never-ending.
TN: Will you spill on any of Rihanna’s new maternal looks?
KB: I’m unsure of them yet, but I mean, she loves vintage. She's always buying. We just never know what she's gonna wear until she wears it. Like, there's the coat, or there's that dress!
A note from the author:
Kerry Bonnell has gone on to source many more pieces for Rihanna and many other A-listers, but we’re here for Riri. Here are some more notable looks post pregnancy.
