Think New York Is the Best Place for Vintage? The City’s Coolest Dealer Thinks Otherwise

On any given afternoon in Brooklyn, you’ll most likely find Olivia La Roche on the prowl for all things worn and used. The downtown-beloved vintage dealer is known for hunting down the most rare and special fashion treasures of yesteryear: Think ’90s ostrich-leather Prada boots or John Galliano–era Dior Saddle bags plucked from a thrift store in Bushwick. Over the years, her ability to spot a diamond in the rough has attracted a loyal following to her store, O. La Roche. (It also helps that La Roche, who has quirky-but-sexy personal style, models much of the clothing.)

This past summer, the 29-year-old uprooted her bicoastal life to relocate to Rome, where she discovered a cornucopia of designer vintage. “I started coming to Paris every couple of months and started sourcing vintage from there. I saw how much better European vintage is, because things start out there and are better quality,” she says. “I came to Rome randomly. There were two other dealers here who were also working in vintage. They showed me the ropes and we started hunting together.”

La Roche spends her time “hunting” at flea markets, thrift, and consignment stores, mostly finding major Italian designers like Versace, Gucci, Fendi, and “loads of Prada,” specifically the label’s ’90s Linea Rossa line. Most of her collection consists of things that Italian houses are famous for: leather, exotic skins, and knitwear. Among the exciting finds: a pair of chocolate leather Gianfranco Ferré booties with metal hardware across the top, a rich cow-print pony hair shoulder bag, or a cropped finely knit tank top. La Roche credits the first-rate trove to the economic boom in Italy during the ’80s and ’90s.

“Italian designers were hitting their peak and the older houses were having renaissances. It was also the height of the ‘Made-in-Italy’ history when there was a concerted effort by the government to fund high-quality production here,” she says, adding. “It might actually be the last ‘generation’ of vintage. Not as much was made after that period [’90s and early ’00s] is high-quality enough to survive.”

Aside from the main Houses, La Roche unearths smaller, more unknown Italian labels, something that she considers to be the most rewarding experience. “There is such a handful and age-old tailoring history in Italy. There are, of course, the big ones that we’ve heard of in the states, but there is so much more, and sometimes it is even better because [these labels] take more risks,” she says. “They aren’t as established so they are better at experimenting.” Many of her finds also consist of unworn dead stock from defunct Italian designers.

One of La Roche’s favorite discoveries was from a thrift store, a dress by Gai Mattiolo, a Rome-based designer who was popular during the ’80s up until the early aughts. “I found this dress and it felt like something special; it had a lot of couture elements. I hadn’t heard of his [Mattiolo’s] name, but I bought it. I discovered that Naomi Campbell was a muse, and I found his Instagram,” she says. “I sent him a picture of the dress and he said it was from the spring 1998 collection and he sent me a picture of it. There was never more than that one made.”

While La Roche has successfully been selling yesteryear treasures from Rome back in the United States and beyond, she hopes that the vintage obsession will trickle into the shopping lists of Rome-based consumers. “Like everywhere, there is a lot of fast fashion. I hope that people’s growing interest in vintage encourages that market here,” she says. Until then, snap up your Miu Miu from O. La Roche before it sells out.

Originally Appeared on Vogue