This past week Barneys in NYC unveiled a new capsule collection by YSL’s designer Stefano Pilati called “New Vintage.” The small collection of approximately 50 pieces of one or two-of-a-kind pieces were intended to showcase Pilati’s concept of the grand house using green and sustainable materials in a different way. The collection was brought together with the use of YSL’s archive of fabrics. While the fabrics embrace the eco-friendly mentality, the price point persists at the couture level with items priced from $495 to $4,100.

Pilati explained, “‘New Vintage’ is my way to reflect our social and economic state by capitalizing on existing resources to translate sustainable ‘values’ into ‘forms.’” And in a speech during the showing, Barneys fashion director Julie Gilhart called the collection, “limited, exclusive and beautiful.” Creative director Simon Doonan hosted the event shown above with Pilati.

I love the idea of a couture house recognizing the importance of working with sustainable materials, and I love the idea of these capsule one-off collections that will certainly be collectible items. However, I have a major problem with the use of the label “New Vintage.” The term “vintage” is being grossly misused. There is actually NOTHING vintage about this collection. Even though they used left over materials from the archives, in an article from WWD last week pointed out that the fabrics in use only dated back to Tom Ford’s era, which is hardly vintage. Tom Ford worked for the house from 1999-2004. A garment or fabric must be AT LEAST 20 years old to be considered vintage. All I can say is buyer beware!