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Search History: Exposing Rare Fashion Archives With @TheKimbino

All photos courtesy of Kim Russell

How do you land a follow from Kim Kardashian and Law Roach, two of the most influential figures in today’s fashion sphere? Kim Russell, known as @thekimbino to her 118K followers, has the secret sauce. Her Instagram is a treasure trove of iconic fashion moments, from emblematic runway looks to unforgettable red carpet throwbacks that resonate with the culture in real-time. Russell got her first hit of attention posting outfit collages on the now-defunct mood board site Polyvore as a fashion business student in 2015, but it wasn’t until a few years later that she turned her focus to archival research. According to Russell, the fashion world had forgotten its history. “Fantastic pictures with no other information except a word or two just weren’t good enough for me,” she told us. Now that she’s a must-follow for industry insiders, Russell spends endless hours in search of juicy moments that make fashion fun again—like that time Miss Piggy wore a custom Vivienne Westwood wedding dress in The Muppets Most Wanted (2014). To find out how @thekimbino feeds her fashion-hungry followers, we DMed the archivist guru about her favorite places on the internet. 

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ERNESTO MACIAS: A/S/L? 

KIM RUSSELL: 26, Female, Australia. 

MACIAS: What’s the first thing you do when you wake up?

RUSSELL: The first thing I do is check the baby monitor to see if I can still have a lie in bed before my kid wakes up. Then I’ll check my socials/emails if I’m lucky!

MACIAS: What were your last three google searches?

RUSSELL: Tracking my post [package delivery], my latest article, and Shayne Oliver HBA (I got invited to his NYFW presentation). 

MACIAS: How does it feel to count Kim Kardashian as a follower and friend?

RUSSELL: It feels surreal, I always forget until I see something about her in the news or on the timeline. She’s so real it’s easy to forget the magnitude of who she is.

MACIAS: What’s your stalking platform of choice?

RUSSELL: Usually Facebook because everyone’s personal stuff is on there (I sound insane). 

MACIAS: Describe your private browsing persona in 3 words.

RUSSELL: Strange, films, tits. 

MACIAS: Favorite meme format?

 RUSSELL: My fave meme format would have to be out-of-context housewives quotes.

MACIAS: What’s your favorite YouTube rabbit hole?

RUSSELL: My fave YouTube rabbit hole is like shark/animal attacks or near-death compilations lol.

MACIAS: How many unread text messages do you have?

RUSSELL: I only have three unread texts. 

MACIAS:  What was your AIM screen name?

RUSSELL: My screen name was my_grillz 💀

MACIAS:  What does your TikTok For You Page look like?

RUSSELL: My TikTok FYP is mainly random hilarious shit and recipes with the occasional makeup video.

MACIAS: What’s a website everyone should know about?

RUSSELL: FirstVIEW, they have so many designer collections that Vogue runway doesn’t provide from 1995 onward. 

MACIAS: An account everyone should follow?

RUSSELL: @Jaymesblond. Everyone should follow Jaymes because his vision is insane. He’s such a talented stylist and if he had a girl with a real budget it’d be OVER.

MACIAS: Where do you spend the most time online?

RUSSELL: Most of my time is probably spent on either Safari or Google using Getty or Tumblr. 

MACIAS: Describe your most incriminating accidental email/text.

RUSSELL: In high school I messaged someone I liked on accident instead of my friend, it was a descriptive text about my crush. I was so scared I blocked this person and haven’t done it again. 

MACIAS: Read receipts: on or off?

RUSSELL: Read receipts OFF!

MACIAS: What’s your password?

RUSSELL: If I told you that I’d have to kill you 🤷🏾‍♀️

MACIAS: Print or digital?

RUSSELL: Digital. Immortalized.

MACIAS: Choose one: money or clout.

RUSSELL: Money.

MACIAS: Lastly, what are you most excited about in 2022?

RUSSELL: Possibly doing some travel for work. I’d absolutely love to do that and expand my horizons. Shout out to Pierpaolo for making couture week worth it 🤣