Curating Pilgrim

The longstanding Lower East Side shop Pilgrim New York was founded by Richard Ives and Brian Bennett to celebrate fashion’s past with its revered vintage collection—but they also hope they can inform its future.

The store features an expertly curated collection of luxury vintage, with labels ranging from Celine and Prada to Yohji Yamamoto and Comme des Garçons. Ives and Bennett first opened Pilgrim upstate in 2006 as an art gallery and shop, showcasing work from Woodstock and New York City artists. A few years later, they moved their business to Orchard Street in Manhattan.

The pair are fashion industry veterans. Bennett co-founded fashion photography agency Lambrecht & Bennett and Ives has been a renowned fashion stylist for over twenty years. “I was always interested in fashion. I was obsessed with it—especially fashion photography,” says Ives, who has worked with Patrick Demarchelier, Donna Karan, Richard Avedon, and many other iconic figures during his varied career.

Their expert point-of-view is apparent throughout the store. Inspired by Parisian vintage boutiques, the space is studded with art and objects that complement the clothing. “We like to keep it very edited. I like the labels that I know my customers like and I want it to have a certain æsthetic,” says Ives. “If you come into the store, you can see how it all kind of works together.”

They also prioritize wearability. Sourcing clothing and accessories from around the world, they opt to stock timeless styles over more ornate pieces that may not get as much wear. From fit to color palette, the ready-to-wear pieces boast an understated elegance that highlights their quality.

Ives is passionate about advising customers on how to maintain the quality of their purchases—and is adamant that they don’t have to pay pricey dry cleaning costs to do so. “There are alternative ways—by steamer, vinegar, vodka. These will take you everywhere you want to go and you don’t have to dry clean your clothes ever,” he explains. “Brian and I both talk about it: Take care of your stuff. It’ll take you further and you won’t have to buy all the time.”

These inclinations underscore his dedication to improving fashion’s impact on the environment and learning how to make retail more sustainable. Though the fashion world is constantly at odds with the planet’s growing climate problem—especially the old guard who once enjoyed a more unrestrained industry—Ives has been open and eager to explore what its future will entail. During the pandemic, he completed several sustainability studies programs through the New School, Stanford, and Harvard Business School, taking on subjects like green chemistry, healthy building materials, and sustainable business strategy. “I wanted to really understand that whole other side of sustainability that had nothing to do with fashion...and it was really important for me to understand more about alternative energy,” he explains. “That really helped me to discuss what I do in a different way.”

With his firsthand knowledge of the industry and what he learned through his studies, Ives is furthering conversations around luxury vintage while using it as a tool to help consumers make more sustainable shopping decisions. “It’s more about making people think differently,” he says. “If I can make something different—even buying designer clothes, as silly as that might seem to some people—it does make a difference.”

And though he is heartened by the enduring popularity of vintage shopping, he urges buyers to be thoughtful about the kind of clothing they want to invest in. While the cultural elite may be able to pay top dollar for eccentric designer evening wear from seasons past, not all consumers can and should shop secondhand with such a mindset. “That’s not the point,” he says. “It’s spending the most money on the things you wear every day, not things you wear occasionally.”

Ives also consults for several beauty brands, including organic makeup company Kjaer Weis, and serves as sustainability advisor for luxury creative house Hildegaard. He will continue to curate Pilgrim’s celebrated stock and is contemplating more sustainability courses, even as he approaches age sixty. “People love to tell you when your life is over,” he says, “when it’s none of their business.”

For more information, please visit pilgrimnyc.com. See this story and many more in print by ordering our seventh issue here.