True Vintage: Ian Drummond – the man, the Collection

By Marcia Scott

In this fast-paced industry of ours, we often don’t take time to smell the roses. As dedicated costume professionals, we spend ample time conducting thorough research, developing knowledge and amassing a wealth of information on any number of topics. Yet when it comes to learning about the people we’ve interacted with for decades, we may be completely in the dark.

This was my case when I started to prepare for a conversation with vintage connaisseur Ian Drummond. I’ve known him for years, but quickly realized I wasn’t familiar with the personal history that makes him and the Ian Drummond Collection (IDC) invaluable to the North American costume community.

Ian Drummond prepping for a studio open house event

Despite preparing for the Toronto Vintage Show, Drummond, always the gentleman, took time to meet with me. Our wonderful conversation covered so much, I could have written a novella.

I loved hearing about British costume designer Alexandra Byrne scheduling a stop to visit the Collection on the way to Los Angeles; approaching Ruth E. Carter in a field at Brimfield, Massachusetts antique market; and Joseph La Corte taking refuge in the aisles while he was in town designing for the series Fellow Travelers (2023.)

Taking me through his inspiring journey – which saw him venture from Southwestern Ontario to Toronto to the Northeastern U.S. and back – says so much about how Ian rolled. He always aimed to make the best of whatever opportunities presented themselves.

Drummond arrived in Toronto in the 70s and began his life in the city working at the Hudson's Bay Company.

He spent the 80s hanging out in the Queen West and Kensington Market neighbourhoods; it was the New Romantic period, and vintage clothes were all the rage. He started collecting pieces and dressing up for nights out, inspired by musicians such as Duran Duran and Billy Idol. (I would so have loved to have been there. Who knows, we may have crossed paths at Courage My Love.)

His journey into the business of vintage began after a brief trip to Santa Cruz, California, where he assisted a cousin in organizing the opening of their vintage shop. In an aha moment, Drummond realized that maybe this was something he could do for a living.

He started shopping, filling his closets with treasures. The vintage bug took hold and he bought into the vintage store 20th Century Frox (love the name!) in the Beaches neighbourhood of Toronto. He had no formal training, but educated himself by reading Vogue magazines and the book Harriet Love's Guide to Vintage Chic.

He later moved to Buffalo, sourcing finds from Northeast American vintage shows and selling them to prominent costume designers who had rental businesses. This included a lucrative stint sourcing and selling to the team of the Academy award-winning film Titanic (1997).

His on-the-job training continued, thanks to late costume designer Peggy Farrell – a loyal friend who Drummond deems his mentor – along with other New York City rental clients. Each request came with a detailed explanation, and each one added to his education. Slowly but surely, Drummond began to understand how to curate a collection.

Five years into his sourcing work, Drummond did the math and decided that renting his collection would be the next step.

“It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out that you can buy something and sell it once, or you can buy it once and rent it 10 times.”

Ian Drummond preparing for an international shipment

Ian Drummond’s studio main aisle circa 2015

On his return to Toronto, Drummond continued to collect true vintage clothing (50+ years old) in the U.S. through shopping and estate sales. The debut of his film career coincided with the launch of his rental business.

For the film,The Assistant (1997), costume designed by Linda Muir and set in the 1930s, Drummond pulled pieces from his stock in Buffalo, which officially ushered in the Ian Drummond Collection (IDC).

For 20 years, Drummond bridged two worlds: working in film and building his collection while on hiatus; his trusted employees would run the rental business while he was away.

His 60s collection was built after wrapping Hairspray (2007); he served as the background costume coordinator. He pitched a low-ball offer for the stock, which was accepted, and IDC walked away with a great deal!

Ian Drummond with CAFTCAD Awards Chair Joanna Syrokomla

The collection continues to develop and has taken on a life of its own. “It's a working collection, not a museum collection, although some of the pieces qualify as museum worthy,” says Drummond.

Drummond’s knowledge of vintage clothing and his experience in film have taught him what works for camera and what doesn’t; as a result, costume teams can solicit IDC for shipments without ever stepping foot in the studio.

2025 CAFTCAD Awards Nominee Night sponsored by Ian Drummond Collection

As worldwide productions ramped up several years ago, international designers, looking beyond their habitual resources for quality vintage rentals, discovered IDC. “It has been great for raising the collection's reputation.”

Though the late local costume designer Arthur Rowsell was an esteemed colleague, the professional highlight of Ian’s film career was the collaboration with Colleen Atwood as a costume buyer on Chicago (2002). The film, set in Ian’s preferred period, (1920s) went on to win an Oscar for Best Costume Design in 2003.

The CAFTCAD era began in Toronto with the goal of uniting costume professionals without barriers. Drummond was the inaugural treasurer in its infancy and continues to support the organization. IDC sponsors the CAFTCAD Awards’ nominee evening, which provides a wonderful opportunity to mix and mingle.

“The nominee night is less structured and the conversation is breezier,” says Drummond.“CAFTCAD has certainly matured as an organization and it's great to see how it has brought costume professionals together in Toronto and across the country.”

Although the awards ceremony timing is tight, Drummond considers it a golden opportunity to offer congratulations in person. “The atmosphere at the Eglinton Grand is magic!”

As the Ian Drummond Collection heads into the fourth decade, Drummond is as passionate as ever. His plan for the next 10 to 15 years is to continue fine-tuning his business, “and with my very competent staff, I’d like to find the balance between work and more time for myself, my gardens and travel. That should take me into my mid 80s. My 80s – wow!”

Although Drummond didn’t set out with the intention of spending the vast part of his life surrounded by vintage clothes or costumes, destiny had its plan.