“When I would go to vintage shows, I would be looking for unique, distressed garments. I’d be lucky if I found one or two. Moreover, it seemed like most people were buying pieces to resell, and were in a frenzied state of mind, quickly shuffling through racks of clothes to find something to flip. First and foremost, Distressed Fest is about focusing on Distressed clothes. It’s about viewing them as wearable art, almost like folk art, where uniqueness and the history of a piece is part of its charm. Secondly, Distressed Fest is about a different perspective on vintage clothing events. One where buyers are looking through racks carefully, and inspecting each piece — not to find one to flip, but to find one that speaks to them, the same way one might find a specific painting in a gallery causes them to stop and stare.

Distressed Fest is me creating the event that I wanted to attend. Highlighting and recontextualizing something that some may see as junk, and displaying it like the treasure I think it to be.

Our goal is to bring together like-minded vendors, buyers, and creative thinkers for a biannual, bicoastal event — happening twice per year; once in New York City, and once in Los Angeles.”

—Abe