Jun 4, 2026 · 52 min · 10 segments
In conversation with Matteo Azzolini writer and creator of the fashion substack Why You Should Care, a weekly newsletter investigating key cultural shifts…
Matteo AzzoliniGuest
Kat NgHostNo entities detected.
One of the first points you made in your article was about nostalgia and nostalgia as an emotional infrastructure in an unstable world.
I think that is actually quite interesting probably from the vintage fashion perspective as well.
... just in general, I think over the last probably two, three years, we've had nostalgia that's been such a pervasive trend.
Um, not just sort of in fashion in terms of product, but in terms of the way that we produce images, a lot of sort of return to the analog ways of doing photography and sort of film as well.
I think we're living through this era that's been so sort of unstable, um, after the pandemic, but also all of these, um, climate changes and climate issues, political and economic volatility as well.
Um, and I feel like it's, it's ac- it's not just what I feel, but it's also what psychologists have shown that basically when we feel like we are in a time of chaos, looking back and looking at the past and at things that we know and we recognize, um, is something that makes people feel a little more grounded.
... we look for something that will endure, and they gi- and that gives us sort of a sense of stability when we feel like we're in this chaotic present.
[lip smack] And I think it's, it's really interesting, and it's really why also probably vintage fashion is something that so many people started to pick up during or after COVID.
Um, and I think it probably, probably consciously or not, that part of why people were so interested in vintage and are so interested in vintage is that willingness to dive into the past and sort of rediscover something that was there in the past but has sort of endured until today and gives us this sort of sense of stability as well.
And it was also, like, such a big tool used, especially within vintage fashion, that, like, unlocking of this, like, nostalgic pop culture moment.
One of the first points you made in your article was about nostalgia and nostalgia as an emotional infrastructure in an unstable world.
I think that is actually quite interesting probably from the vintage fashion perspective as well.
... just in general, I think over the last probably two, three years, we've had nostalgia that's been such a pervasive trend.
Um, not just sort of in fashion in terms of product, but in terms of the way that we produce images, a lot of sort of return to the analog ways of doing photography and sort of film as well.
I think we're living through this era that's been so sort of unstable, um, after the pandemic, but also all of these, um, climate changes and climate issues, political and economic volatility as well.
Um, and I feel like it's, it's ac- it's not just what I feel, but it's also what psychologists have shown that basically when we feel like we are in a time of chaos, looking back and looking at the past and at things that we know and we recognize, um, is something that makes people feel a little more grounded.
... we look for something that will endure, and they gi- and that gives us sort of a sense of stability when we feel like we're in this chaotic present.
[lip smack] And I think it's, it's really interesting, and it's really why also probably vintage fashion is something that so many people started to pick up during or after COVID.
Um, and I think it probably, probably consciously or not, that part of why people were so interested in vintage and are so interested in vintage is that willingness to dive into the past and sort of rediscover something that was there in the past but has sort of endured until today and gives us this sort of sense of stability as well.
And it was also, like, such a big tool used, especially within vintage fashion, that, like, unlocking of this, like, nostalgic pop culture moment.
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3 of 5
Calling Out Demna's Copycat Designs
Matteo critiques Demna's recent archival recycling trend
Luxury You Can't Buy
Why rarity eclipses price on red carpets
Nostalgia As Emotional Infrastructure
He links vintage craze to pandemic psychology
+2 more clips · 8 min of audio in all
7 of 22
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Is the Handbag Dead? Jay Choyce Tibbitts on What’s Next for Luxury | Emily Blumenthal & Jay Choyce TibbittsHandbag Designer 101: The Stories Behind Handbag Designers, Brands, and Industry IconsThe rest of this transcript — segmented and speaker-labeled, so you land on the exact moment something was said
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