For anyone who’s wanted to walk a mile in Kim Gordon’s patent-leather shoes, Silver Lake on Sunday morning was the place to be.
The Sonic Youth bassist/vocalist and ’90s fashion icon was clearing out her closet, and hundreds of Gordon’s fans camped out for hours, hoping to snag a piece of her revered wardrobe.
Gordon and stylist Christina Turner co-hosted the sale, in the sweltering lot outside of Submission Beauty on Rowena Avenue, and the items ranged from grunge-era gems to timeless It-girl garb and even archival pieces of Gordon’s own designs, as co-founder of the cult fashion line X-Girl.
“Inspiration for this sale was born out of the necessity to streamline and create breathing room,” said Turner. “Our collective thought was, ‘Why not find these pieces new homes where their value will be cherished?’”
The Gordon purge follows in the fashionable footsteps of fellow style trendsetter Chloë Sevigny’s closet sale in May in New York, and happened to take place on the same weekend that late NYC rock legend Tom Verlaine’s massive book collection was put on sale to the public in Brooklyn.
Sifting through the racks in Silver Lake, well-heeled Gordon fans could spend $1,000 to take home the Isabel Marant high-waisted metallic gold shorts the singer wore when she performed at the 2020 BBC Radio 6 Music Festival in London.
The silver sequined open-toe booties Gordon wore alongside Pat Smear, Dave Grohl and Krist Novoselic at Nirvana’s induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame were a steal and went quickly for $20. And a black & Other Stories dress with a silver and gold bird fashioned from beads, which Gordon rocked at the Marc Jacobs Spring 2016 fashion show in New York City, was listed for $75.
“Kim just wore this to a wedding last year,” Turner said, pulling from the rack a beige vintage coat with a fur collar. ”It’s all personal items from Kim’s closet. Some are heavily worn, some are lightly worn.
“That has stains,” she said, holding a well-loved hoodie. “It went through the grunge era.”
“Yellowjackets” star Sophie Thatcher showed up to raid Gordon’s closet. “I’ve been a fan of hers since I was a kid,” the 22-year-old actor told The Times. “I read her memoir when I was 14 and was hooked. I got this sick Bella Freud long silvery metallic dress.” She also took home a red and navy striped turtleneck from J. Crew for $25. “I’m so happy with both my finds,” she said.
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Longtime Gordon fan Jacqueline McLennan, 28, was the first in line, camping outside the Rowena gates at 6 a.m. “I knew I had to be there and have a piece of history,” said the Los Feliz resident. McLennan scored a Sonic Youth “Fund Texas Choice!” tee and a black Comme des Garçons blouse with a white collar, which she held up to her chest. “I’m gonna wear this all the time!” she gushed.
“Growing up in New York, Kim and Chloë were a part of why I got into fashion,” stylist Taryn Tavormina, 29, said, adding that she was hoping to find “anything from 2013 to 2017, either Miu Miu or Prada — jackpot. But if I see any X-Girl stuff, that would be really dope.”
Gordon, 70, who graduated from the local Otis Art Institute and now calls L.A. home, stopped by briefly, hanging back incognito in a “Ballroom Marfa” baseball cap and shades. (She declined a request for an interview.)
When all the racks were near bare and the event had gone off without a hitch — miraculously no mosh pits broke out over the metallic Rodarte combat boots — the sale had raised $17,000 per Gordon’s Instagram, which she’s donating to L.A.’s Downtown Women’s Center.
“Sonic Youth is an iconic group,” said Nancy Lopez, 40, who came from Koreatown to grab a wool and alpaca cardigan, “and Gordon is all about women’s empowerment. This was something that I really wanted to be part of.”
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