Why we are all listening to this genius

Meet the Instagram archivist who Bella Hadid and Kim Kardashian entrust, and who stars in a new video series with The Oz. 

Meet the Instagram archivist who Bella Hadid and Kim Kardashian entrust, and who stars in a new video series with The Oz. 

In 2022 – a year where use of the word ‘unprecedented’ is the precedent – online nostalgia has taken on a new, therapeutic role in our lives. Keeping tabs on the present is such an exhausting exercise, so a renewed interest in cultural moments from the past makes sense; think the return of Y2K fashion as propelled by TikTok, and celebrities like Olivia Rodrigo and Kylie Jenner wearing vintage clothes that are older than they are. 

Perth-based archivist Kim Russell is an example of how recognition of the past is shaping the future. Visit Russell’s Instagram account, @TheKimbino, and you’ll be met with irreverent, razor-sharp commentary on celebrity and runway fashion old and new, as well as revisits of pivotal fashion moments overlooked by society. Think Emma Watson wearing a 1994 Jean Paul Gaultier dress in 2002 that today’s too-cool vintage collectors would lose their minds over, something Russell stumbled across in one of her late-night trawls of Getty Images (“Not my good sis Hermione Granger in a SS94 Gaultier classic!” she wrote).

In the business of documenting cultural moments, Russell’s knowledge is all-encompassing; you’ll be just as likely to find intellectual dissections of runway shows by Schiaparelli and Loewe on her page as you would hot takes about Real Housewives. Her account has earned respect from keen-eyed followers Bella Hadid and Julia Fox, and fellow vintage fashion connoisseur Kim Kardashian is a regular in Russell’s DMs. Even if fashion isn’t an interest, you’ll no doubt fall for Russell’s acerbic wit and encyclopaedic knowledge, which makes her one of the most interesting people on the Internet today. 

With that said, it’s an exciting moment for The Oz to enlist Russell and Vogue’s Jonah Waterhouse on a new video series, When Fashion Calls. Before you tune in, read about Russell’s unique life and times below. 

Have you always had a photographic memory with fashion, or did it come with time?

I definitely feel like I’ve had it for the longest time, but it’s something that’s become quite refined with time, which is just natural. For example the Tumblr days when Riccardo’s Givenchy was all we lived for, it was very easy to identify the Bird of Paradise shirt or the shark tooth detail on the boots, etc. But as time has gone on it’s become easy to familiarise myself with the different codes that each designer brings to a house. 

Givenchy Menswear Spring/Summer 2012. Photo: Getty

Last time we spoke, you mentioned being starstruck by Zendaya’s stylist Law Roach and Louis Vuitton creative director Nicolas Ghesquière on your account; who else has left you starstruck in the months since?

So just recently Hari Nef followed me on Twitter and Instagram, as well as Barbie Ferreira. I audibly gasped at both. I think since we spoke Bella Hadid has also followed me and I just adore her. 

The Oz’s aim is to focus on ‘cultural moments’, in your opinion, who are some fashion designers creating cultural moments right now?

Christopher John Rogers, Maximilian and Theophilo are all very unique in their own ways. I think in 20 years people will look back at Gwyneth Paltrow in Christopher John Rogers, and instantly know it was his design. 

Who are some celebrities you think deserve more credit for their impact on fashion, old or new?

Women in rap and music in the ’90s deserve the most respect and flowers because they created fashion moments from one, their own pockets, and two, dust from the industry. Lil Kim, Mary J., Eve, Foxy Brown, Charli Baltimore, Mariah Carey; they all set the tone for musicians today. Today it’s easy to send through a pull request [for a piece of clothing] (you might not get a yes all the time) but it was basically impossible back then. Misa Hylton has spoken on this. 

The Grammys are the most recent award show and it was a mixed bag of looks. Who were some people who did it right, and why?

Doja Cat looked incredible. She had the dress, the glam, the accessory of the season. Not one thing was out of place. 

As someone trained as a teacher, did you ever intend to become a teacher to so many people on the Internet?

In a way it was my intention, because I wanted to set myself apart from everyone else. There are certainly people who [use] similar imagery to me but I wanted it to be a moment where people get something out of it even if it’s a small quick fact or an finding an outfit ID that has been itching in your brain cause you couldn’t find it when you were like 10. 

What do you hope your followers gain from your account and content?

Any form of joy. Whether you’re laughing or you’re in awe. If people don’t care anymore then it would be difficult to keep going.