See Who Showed Up at VFiles’ Second Anniversary Party
In the ’90s, Liquid Sky on Lafayette Street was where the ravers shopped and schmoozed, and across the street, X-Girl, X-Large, and Supreme were where you’d find the skater kids. In that same tradition of Soho shops-that-are-more-than-shops is VFiles (12 Mercer Street), a loose offshoot of V magazine (its founder, Julie Anne Quay, is an alum of the downtown fashion fiefdom) with a 50,000-member social-media network.* On any given day you’ll find millennials mixing high fashion with Tumblr memes and ironic sportswear (think $300 SpongeBob visors by Moschino paired with SLIMANE baseball jerseys), Fuct-T-shirt-clad teens milling about, part-time models killing time between appointments, and members of VFiles’ extended “family” (stylists, musicians, photographers) who are passing through Soho. In mid-July, Yung Lean, an 18-year-old Swedish rapper, performed at the store’s second anniversary. Here’s who showed up.
* This article has been corrected to show that Julie Anne Quay is the sole founder of VFiles.
*This article appears in the July 28, 2014 issue of New York Magazine.
Hayley Pisaturo, 28, Stylist
Anis Aziz, 18, Student “When I lived in Melbourne, I shopped VFiles all the time, but the prices got marked up 30 percent.”
Madeleine Marie Angus, 19, Student
Kumasi Sadiki, 29, the Good Company Co-owner “VFiles is basically Tumblr and music videos in a store. It’s ‘Come pick out your Tumblr outfit.’”
Walter Pearce, 19, Student “I missed Yung Lean by accident. I just showed up too late, but I got an Instagram with him, so it’s all good. I do ve...
Walter Pearce, 19, Student “I missed Yung Lean by accident. I just showed up too late, but I got an Instagram with him, so it’s all good. I do very architectural, shape-driven (sometimes fashion) photography. It’s just what I’m drawn to.”
Lil’ Government, 29, ‘Social Medium’ “I am all about the sleepwear for summer. It’s comfortable, and you’re ready to go in the morning.”
Rox Brown, 25, VFiles Personal Shopper “I choose items that I think will fit our clients' tastes, and I send it to them. I’ve worked with Katy Pe...
Rox Brown, 25, VFiles Personal Shopper “I choose items that I think will fit our clients' tastes, and I send it to them. I’ve worked with Katy Perry; Nick Young from the Lakers; Anthony Morrow from the Oklahoma City Thunder.”
Alexandra Marzella, 24, Artist “I used to work at VFiles; they’re kind of like family. Right now, I'm an artist and sex worker."
Gewet Tekle, 23, VFiles Photographer “I bought those sandals over a year ago — and wore socks with them — before ‘normcore’ existed. I wasn’t rea...
Gewet Tekle, 23, VFiles Photographer “I bought those sandals over a year ago — and wore socks with them — before ‘normcore’ existed. I wasn’t really dressed up for the event. It was a normal workday for me. I was down in the basement, shooting product, and I came up for the party.”
Romina Cenisio, 27, Hood by Air Graphic Designer “I’m a perpetual ‘summer of 2003 party girl.’ You can find me at TRL Live: "Seaside Heights...
Romina Cenisio, 27, Hood by Air Graphic Designer “I’m a perpetual ‘summer of 2003 party girl.’ You can find me at TRL Live: "Seaside Heights Summer Edition" all year, thong sticking out with a bikini under a tube top. I’m always down for some normcore details if it goes with my look, but I’m never normal.”
Preston Chaunsumlit, 34, Casting Director
Tyler Benz, 26, VFiles Social-Media Manager “VFiles is still a start-up, so we have multiple roles. It’s all very democratic down here in Soho.”
Jake Petan, 13, Rapper and Student
Booty Chaaain, 22, Rapper “There’s three A’s because it’s not pronounced ‘Booty Chain,’ it’s pronounced ‘Booty Chaaain.’ It adds some ratchetness...
Booty Chaaain, 22, Rapper “There’s three A’s because it’s not pronounced ‘Booty Chain,’ it’s pronounced ‘Booty Chaaain.’ It adds some ratchetness to my name. I didn’t choose it. I was just born that way.”
Michelle Salem, 22, Opening Ceremony Assistant
Alex Govenar, a.k.a. Shy Guy, 24, Music Producer “I have a very big collection of rap T-shirts from the ’90s. Most of them are bootlegs and kind ...
Alex Govenar, a.k.a. Shy Guy, 24, Music Producer “I have a very big collection of rap T-shirts from the ’90s. Most of them are bootlegs and kind of look like the early days of Photoshop, that early word-art style that’s been appropriated by the Tumblr crowd: Yung Lean and those guys.”
A$AP Nast, 24, Rapper
Danielle Greco, 24, VFiles Assistant Buyer “I used to work in the store and gained lots of friendships, from a little 12 year-old-boy who loved H...
Danielle Greco, 24, VFiles Assistant Buyer “I used to work in the store and gained lots of friendships, from a little 12 year-old-boy who loved Hood By Air to fashion editors who are buying Ashish. I make sure I keep ties with everyone, and make sure that everyone knows they are a part of our community and a part of everything we do.”
Manon Macasaet, 15, Student “I go on VFiles and look for fashion inspiration. A lot of people have a Vfiles name like 'Soft Ghetto,' and I get in...
Manon Macasaet, 15, Student “I go on VFiles and look for fashion inspiration. A lot of people have a Vfiles name like 'Soft Ghetto,' and I get inspiration from that, but it can come off a little corny. I’m really careful with my own wardrobe; I don’t like to copy what I see people wearing on VFiles, but I use it as a reference.”
Drew Millard, 25, VICE.com Features Editor “I left the party before Yung Lean went on. I was going to the Justin Timberlake concert.”
Sabrina Fuentes, 14, VFiles Intern “I like boyfriend jeans and a T-shirt. I’ll roll up the sleeves. I’m not a super-feminine dresser. I do more o...
Sabrina Fuentes, 14, VFiles Intern “I like boyfriend jeans and a T-shirt. I’ll roll up the sleeves. I’m not a super-feminine dresser. I do more of a girl-next-door, tomboy thing.”
Zachary Ching, 31, VFiles Retail Director “X-Girl is one of my favorite brands from growing up; I was always obsessed with it. It was the first b...
Zachary Ching, 31, VFiles Retail Director “X-Girl is one of my favorite brands from growing up; I was always obsessed with it. It was the first brand that we opened the store with. We relaunched it in the U.S.”
Le1f, 25, Rapper “I got this shirt from a drug-dealer-looking hippie dude in this hippie village in Toronto. I was so happy when I got it.”
Luka Sabbat, a.k.a. Lil’ Toast, 17, Model “I’ve been working with VFiles forever. Not actually. Like a year. Maybe two years.”
Yung Lean, 18, Rapper
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