Cameron Silver Biography CAMERON SILVER Owner of DECADES, boutiques in Los Angeles and London Any discussion of modern fashion inevitably leads to Cameron Silver. While vintage is his medium, he is widely recognized for his impact on the trends a new generation of designers in Paris or New York send out on the catwalk, or the way a constellation of Hollywood’s brightest appear on the red carpet. The dress code shifted in Los Angeles since he opened the doors of his Melrose Avenue salon Decades in 1997, in large part due to exhorting his frequently photographed, trendsetting clientele to “dress up.” So influential is Silver’s effect, that a “Decades look” has emerged—modern, sexy, unstudied, individual and always glamorous. It blends vintage with contemporary, and the results are never a flashback. Through the years since he was named one of Time magazine’s “25 Most Influential Names and Faces in Fashion” in 2002, Silver’s sway is unmistakable even among those who have never walked into Decades. It’s caught on among women as far away as Dubai or Moscow or Tokyo, who regularly make do by snapping up a couture gown or one-off necklace posted online at the Decades ecommerce blog (that now accounts for 40 percent of Decades business). On invitation to the private homes of Houston socialites or a Hong Kong department store to speak to the city’s nouveau clotheshorses, Silver transforms attitudes and superstitions associated with wearing vintage and, by doing so, the way fashion and personal flair is considered. His effortless approach has made him a favorite pundit on E! Entertainment, the Style Network and “Fashion File.” and he writes about luxury, from shopping to travel to his front row perch at the haute couture presentations, for the UK-edition of Harpers Bazaar, C Magazine, Departures, Style.com, among other media. Up the leopard-spotted carpeted stairs of the cocoa-colored Art Deco building that houses Decades, Silver entertains his clients--Italian designers and Hollywood stylists, British superstars and American fashion editors, and a local legion of devotees--in a living room-like setting. It is here, among the cabinets filled with rare YSL and Paco Rabanne jewelry and lounging against the crocodile-covered throw pillows on the silky sofa, that fashion insiders and Silver collaborate. The results are headlining moments referenced long after: Gwyneth Paltrow in Christian Dior, Chloe Sevigny in Thierry Mugler, Kiera Knightly in Ossie Clark, Nicole Kidman in Loris Azzaro. Those headline-making frocks and the rest of the carefully selected trove that make up Decades stock both here and in the bijou outpost in London’s Dover Street Market are gleaned from Silver’s year-round trips to auctions, fairs and, mostly, private collections. The calls might come unplanned, as when Catherine Deneuve summoned him to the her Paris apartment, or closer to home as in the Beverly Hills manse of Jill St. John. There he found a mink-trimmed maxi coat designer James Galanos created for the former Bond girl that was swiftly nabbed by Mary J. Blige. “I think of fashion, of dressing as art. I’m not about disposable shopping. Even my day wear is glamour,” Silver shrugs, at his feet, the bespoke “Cameron” bag Hermes created for him. Silver’s uncanny reading of the fashion zeitgeist is why stylists and designers and their teams also visit Decades for research—of an old silhouette that can become new again, or a forgotten seam technique that deserves a comeback. As his collections transformed Gucci in the mid-1990s, Tom Ford rebuilt the Italian house’s archives with choice pieces culled from Decades. And just as Nicolas Ghesquière of Balenciaga found an entire collection in a long out-of-print book featuring the work the late San Francisco designer Kaisik Wong, Silver was set to showcase Wong’s metallic patchwork vests and other work as part of the ongoing exhibition series in his salon. The program has revived interest in designers of consequence, including Ossie Clark, Holly Harp, Cardinalli, Loris Azzaro and Koos van den Akker. With the new guard of so many heritage houses from New York to Milan seeking guidance here, it’s not surprising Silver is frequently tapped both as public emissary and secret weapon to consult on everything from re-imagining a brand’s identity to navigating its global launch. He has officially served as an ambassador for Pringle and Boucheron. As creative consultant to Azzaro, Silver collaborated with the once-languishing Paris house’s new creative director Vanessa Seward on design, research, and development, as well as initiating and maintaining the brand’s role in celebrity dressing. More recently, he dug in as creative consultant for the global launch of Samsonite’s iconic Fashionaire collection. Downstairs at Decadestwo, pre-owned and unworn designer jewelry, bags, shoes and clothes fill a 3,000-square-foot storefront. Newly expanded in late 2007, the shop is now double the original space it opened with eight years ago. The offerings are all 21st century consignments, many from the current season. Silver and his business partner in Decadestwo, Christos Garkinos, have racked up accolades for their innovative concept, including being named “Retailer of the Year” at the 2006 LA Fashion Awards. Silver’s enthusiasm for good design extends beyond the realm of fashion. He was among the first to recognize the disappearing architectural legacy of Los Angeles’ great modernist homes, and scooped up a crumbling hillside 1930 treasure by icon R.M. Schindler that he then spent eight years meticulously restoring. The L.A. Conservancy awarded the efforts, and the house was landmarked, and it has appeared on the covers of shelter magazines and in several books. Today, the Los Feliz home is filled with tokens from his travels: an antique shop sign spelling out My Sin - Lanvin for the Paris house’s scent of that name; a smattering of the vintage Hermès desk accessories he obsessively collects. It’s also frequently filled with dinner parties welcoming to town friends such as Lanvin’s Alber Elbaz or Costume National’s Ennio Capasa. Or it might be Dom Pérignon chef de cave Richard Geoffroy popping the last bottle from a case of Vintage blanc 1999 to celebrate the Emmy nomination announced that very morning of friend and longtime Decades client, actress Rachel Griffiths. Silver’s earliest peeks into so many well-appointed closets transpired as a child growing up in the sunny flats of Beverly Hills. Following studies in theater arts at UCLA, he hit the road with his cabaret act of Weimer-era songs. In between gigs in Seattle, he happened upon an apple-green coat by Pauline Trigere. The thrift shop find turned into a pursuit that grew with each tour stop, and he sent boxes of discoveries home. He interrupted the singing career with the release of his only album, “Berlin to Babylon,” and parlayed his side business into a full-time enterprise. Today, with more than a decade of Decades under his alligator belt, Silver is wrapping up a coffee table book for Bloomsbury showcasing an unexpected compilation of the most significant 20th century fashions, as well as the many celebrities he collaborated with over the years. It’s slated for release in fall 2011. Cameron Silver Media Kit Cameron Silver Hi-Res Photo 01 Cameron Silver Hi-Res Photo 02 Cameron Silver Hi-Res Photo 03 Decades Interior Store Photo 01 Decades Interior Store Photo 02 Decades Interior Store Photo 03 Decades Interior Store Photo 04 Decades Interior Store Photo 05 Decades Interior Store Photo 06 Decades Interior Store Photo 07 Decades Interior Store Photo 08 Decades Exterior Store Photo Decades Geoffrey Beene Window Decades Halston Window Decades Norman Norell Window Decades Christian Dior Haute Couture Window Decades Zandra Rhodes Window Decades Donald Brooks Window Decades Halston Window 2 Decades Joyeux Norell Window Decades Yves Saint Laurent Window Decades Halston Window 3 Decades Jean Patou Back to Main