Moore Vintage Archive, with its treasure trove of Issey Miyake, Saint Laurent, and Hermès, has opened a new location in New York

It’s one thing for a fashion boutique to launch in New York, find a national audience, and open an outpost in Philly. But — unless you’re Urban Outfitters — it’s rare for a Philly address to serve as the home of a fashion flagship.

That is exactly founder of South Fourth Street’s Moore Vintage Archive, Keesean Moore’s stylish situation.

The 37-year-old retro clothing dealer recently opened Moore Vintage Archive and Showroom in TriBeCa, a 1,200 square-foot intimate spinoff of his stylish 2,000 square-foot Queen Village space.

Like Moore’s Fabric Row showroom, his TriBeCa location carries mid to late-20th century dramatic designer finds. We are talking Vogue-worthy frocks, pantsuits, and jumpsuits from the likes of Issey Miyake, Saint Laurent, Halston, and Hermès.

“My niche is documented designer pieces from the 1960s through the early aughts,” Moore said standing in his Queen Village store, his hand resting on a scarlet Goeffrey Beene special occasion dress in a rack of delicate lace wedding gowns and yesteryear’s glitz. The center rack holds staff picks and new arrivals and to the far left are a bevy of color-coordinated separates, an array of Chanel, 90s Giorgio Armani, and Bill Blass.

“Christian Dior, Vivienne Westwood, Bob Mackie,” Moore said, rattling off the esteemed designer names. “I look for the pieces stars would wear.”

Many pieces in Moore’s inventory — take the bevy of sleek Miyake items — have facsimiles nestled in the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s vast costume collection. In Moore’s showrooms, these archival pieces are not off-limits, locked behind protective glass cases. At his New York and Philly garment galleries, they hang in conversation with celebrated artists like Marlene Dumas, Faith Ringgold, Mickalene Thomas, and Salman Toor, waiting for fashionistas to examine them closely, feel their texture, and ultimately try them on.

“We are a shoppable design library,” Moore said. “My goal is to create a shopping experience that feels easy and approachable. And I’m discreet … With that discretion comes a level of trust.”

Other than confirming BlackStar Film Festival’s founder Maori Karmael Holmes and Opera Philadelphia composer-in-residence Nathalie Joachim as clients, Moore is tight-lipped about the hundreds of women he dresses in Philadelphia, New York, and beyond.

Yet, dressed in a brown turtleneck and his trademark deep cuffed denim trousers, Moore beams as he talks about supplying a few looks for HBO’s Mad Men in the mid aughts. Costume designers for FX’s Love Story: John F. Kennedy Jr & Carolyn Bessette perused his inventory, as did wardrobe stylists for upcoming The Devil Wears Prada 2, opening in theaters May 1.

“What I sell may be decades old, but it’s timeless,” Moore said. “They are works of art. No matter what era you are in, the pieces I choose all have that same wow factor.”

Mixed into the heavily curated apparel collection are accessories: Louis Vuitton luggage, brimmed chapeaus, and shiny chunky jewelry. On the shelves are journals imported from Germany and vintage books by authors like James Baldwin and Toni Morrison.

Prices range from a $50 Escada blouse in the Philly location to a $20,000 1980s’ Azzedine Alaïa leather coat in New York.

“A floor-length Alaïa trench from 1980s is really rare,” Moore said. “Back then they didn’t sell them in New York, you had to go to his atelier in Paris and have it custom made.”

Moore grew up in Jersey City dreaming of becoming a stylist for Vogue or Harper’s Bazaar. In high school, he got his first taste of vintage clothing, working at resale boutiques. He attended the College of New Jersey in the early 2000’s and studied comparative English literature, French, and journalism. He made extra money thrifting high end clothing and reselling it.

During that time, Moore lucked up on a 1990s Alaïa dress that sold through a dealer on consignment in less than a week. After pocketing what he considered, “too small of a percentage for that find,” he decided to build a resale network and barter on his own terms.

“I was like, ‘Wait a minute,’,” Moore said laughing. “I can certainly figure out how to do this on my own.”

While building his high end resale business, Moore did an internship with the New York Times’ T magazine. He graduated college in 2011 and began working as an assistant stylist and freelance writer. In 2014, he landed a gig as lead stylist for a Versace children’s clothing campaign.

Around 2016, he quit his styling and writing gigs and started selling high end resale full time. He bought and sold vintage clothing online, at the Brooklyn Flea and Manhattan Vintage

In October 2020, Moore moved to South Philly and, within a few months, started selling vintage pieces from a Bok Building studio. By 2022, he’d outgrown it and leased his present Queen Village space.

He begins his weeks in Philly and ends them in New York. He sees clients in both retail spaces by appointment only.

When Moore’s not helping a discerning diva shimmy into classic couture, he’s traveling throughout the United States, South America, and Europe, scouring estate shows, trade shows. and flea markets for that special Tom Ford Gucci, John Galliano Dior, or Coco Chanel.

“I know what I’m looking for and I go where I need to find it,” Moore said. “If it’s in an attic in Alaska, then I’ll hop on a plane and go to Alaska. I want pieces that have been documented, have provenance, and at the end of the day are absolutely beautiful.”

Moore Vintage Archive is at 725 S 4th St. in Philadelphia. The New York showroom is located 401 Broadway, Suite 201 in TriBeCa; MooreVintage.com.