Why Crocs, Vera Bradley and other brands are diving into their archives for fashion inspiration

New DTC toolkit // October 15, 2026 Why Crocs, Vera Bradley and other brands are diving into their archives for fashion inspiration By Julia Waldow Express For some fashion brands, what’s old is literally new again. With cultural nostalgia in full force, more brands are digging through their archives to relaunch or revisit old collections.

In 2025, Chloé reintroduced its iconic Paddington bag after 20 years, under creative director Chemena Kamali. In April, Banana Republic brought back adventure-oriented pieces from its archives, in collaboration with the nonprofit The Explorers Club.

Also in the spring, Giorgio Armani announced Archivio, 13 men’s and women’s looks from the brand’s back catalog that were remade for 2026. Brands are going retro largely to appeal to the next generation, executives told Modern Retail.

For one, many younger shoppers (especially Gen Z) have a strong appetite for vintage aesthetics amid mass consumerism and fast fashion. Some, as Pacsun reported in its recent Youth Report, are feeling a wave of “anemoia,” or a longing for a past they never lived.

TV shows like “Love Story,” which are set in the 1990s, are also driving demand for brands of the era, like Calvin Klein and Tommy Hilfiger. But it goes beyond that, too. For young customers, vintage-inspired collections are a way to refute fast-changing trends and play up a sense of individuality.

“I can’t tell you how embarrassing it is to go to a party and walk in and see four people with the exact same shirt,” Hannah Schwartz, 18, said at Shoptalk Fall. “We want something a bit unique.” Express, which launched in 1980, is one of the brands taking note of this sentiment.

Young shoppers are “really a big part of what’s bringing back some of these iconic looks and silhouettes and interpreting [them] in their own way,” said Joe Berean, the brand’s chief marketing officer.

Express went back to its archives and those of its former menswear brand, Structure, when launching Express Archives, an apparel capsule reviving original styles from the 1990s and early 2000s.

Archive’s collection ($64-$188) debuted in September and includes key staples like the ’95 Color Block Sweatshirt, the ’98 Utility Cargo Pant and the ’01 Rugby Stripe Polo. While the pieces’ colors, silhouettes and overall design remain the same, Express updated some fabrications to include newer technologies around stretch in denim, for example.

View this post on Instagram Express has gone back into the archives before, typically by bringing back graphics on T-shirts. But with so much renewed attention on the 1990s, Express wanted to showcase how it helped set some of the era’s trends, like exaggerated proportions, Berean told Modern Retail.

“We see customers dressing this way on the street,” he said. “It’s self-referential for us, in the sense that, in these times, we were ubiquitous for certain looks and elements of style. To see them now come back, and to see this new generation of customers embracing them, excited us.”

Berean said customers are drawn to “the nostalgic value” of the collection, especially when it comes to styles like bootcut denim. But shoppers are also reimagining these looks for today. Some of the most popular pieces in Express’s archival collection are oversized graphic sweatshirts that Gen Z women are pairing with miniskirts.

“Anecdotally, our store teams are saying they’re seeing a younger customer base drawn into this,” Berean said. Express is also partnering with menswear creators Jon Alan (120,000 Instagram followers), Grant Solis (17,200 Instagram followers) and Nicolas Herbert (18,400 Instagram followers) to provide style inspiration.

Vera Bradley, which launched in 1982 and is in the midst of a larger turnaround, is rereleasing older prints as limited editions as it looks to resonate with a younger customer.

Gen Z, broadly speaking, is interested in personal expression, and Vera Bradley knows “that she looks for those special patterns that she can’t necessarily find anymore,” said Melinda Paraie, the company’s chief brand officer.

In September, the brand released its Remix Collection, which features its Original 100 Handbag ($135), Maisie Handbag ($100) and Original Duffel ($155) in the older, preppy prints Ditsy Bandana Navy and Ditsy Bandana Yellow.

In March, Vera Bradley had its design team revisit the Original 100 Handbag and create a bespoke collection of 50 bags with motifs like roses and rodeos. “Our customer loves collecting, and the bags sold out in under three minutes,” Paraie told Modern Retail. “And interestingly, it was all Gen Z and new consumers to the brand [who bought the bags].”

Vera Bradley teased the launch on social media, earning comments including,