“I come from such a strong thrifting family. I used to hate it growing up because I would just sit in the shopping cart, bored out of my mind as my mom pushed me around. My mom trained us when we were kids to be able to touch and feel cashmere so we could easily flip through racks for her and pull out anything that was cashmere. I went on a lot of trips with her and my sister, they taught me all the skills.

When I moved out of my Mom’s house I was 16 years old. I would live on 40 bucks a week and spend almost all that on going to the thrift store. Me and my friends would hit, like, three different stores every day and just dig and dig and dig and buy crazy random things and a lot of it, like, I don’t wear anymore, but every once in a while you get something that you keep forever. For me, it is less about the clothes and more about the memories that are tied to them. And thank God I kept all of it because I love, love, love my clothes. I love my clothes!”

Henry Howcroft, interviewed by Cara Montello, Winter 2025/26