FUELLED by a passion to preserve and promote the great designs of the past for the 21st century consumer, Gill Linton, CEO of vintage e-commerce platform Byronesque, cares deeply about nurturing the best of fashion in order to open people’s eyes to clothes beyond the mainstream.
Navigating the proliferating contemporary vintage market since Byronesque’s opening in 2013, Linton has expertly carved out an unparalleled position in the industry, as a seller of original, authentic clothing with a unique story to tell.
It’s a position that has been hard-earned by hand selecting pieces that pay attention to cultural relevance and taste, building a recognisable aesthetic in the process.
So recognisable that in 2019, Byronesque teamed up with Gareth Pugh and Farfetch to reissue a selection of the greatest designs by Claude Montana in a unique capsule collection – the first time in over two decades that you could source his creations at a retailer.
Attentive to overlooked designers and unfazed by trends or hype, Byronesque has quickly become a source of inspiration, education and creativity for all.
Justin Westover and Gill Linton, founders of Byronesque.
How did you begin your collection? What inspired you to start it?
I don’t really have a personal collection. I have a few clothes that I mix up and fortunately I don’t look like I’m always wearing the same things. I really do practice the less-is-more philosophy of Byronesque.
I was inspired to start Byronesque because I was bored of contemporary fashion and felt like I had missed out on the best moments in contemporary-vintage fashion history. I also hated vintage shops. The thrill of the find was never a thrill for me. It had to be easier.
As Four Circle Bag, 2001
It was an especially creative time in NYC’s Lower East Side.
Rick Owens Kiss Boots, 2020
If fashion ever said ‘you can’t sit with us’ it’s these, in the very best way. Future Vintage.
Can you tell our readers more about Byronesque and its purpose?
We search for the obscure sartorial and creative connections between the past and today, like you’re seeing it for the first time. It allows people to understand that some clothes have more meaning than the mainstream. And hopefully will inspire people to keep better clothes for a long time; doing our bit to save independent creativity, expression and the planet. This is our manifesto.
We start at punk. With the irreverence to re-issue the overlooked and longed for.
We thought the future would be cooler. But we are against outdated nostalgia.
We believe that just because it’s old doesn’t mean it’s good. Our edit is ruthless. And we’re not here to spoon feed.
We tell stories and sell clothes from the vintage margins and the misfit designers who alienated and inspired. For the androgynously chic who don’t want to be figured out.
Our connection to the past is obscure.
Our present is more provocative, more polarizing and more lasting than your landfills of imitations.
When you understand fashion history, you can predict the future of fashion.
Contemporary-vintage is future proofed by Byronesque.
How does Byronesque cater to the hype for contemporary-vintage menswear?
We don’t cater to hype. There are plenty of other sites and brands that do that. We usually start it, like a subculture that ends up in the mainstream.
Chloe Runway Jeans, 2000
It was my transition uniform when I moved from London to NYC in 2000. London got it, NYC didn’t.
Comme des Garçons Lumps and Bumps Jacket, 1997
Inspired almost every shape on the runway today.
As the creator of a site that is described as revolutionising vintage fashion, what do you see for the future of contemporary-vintage fashion?
Resale is a dirty word to us, because it’s a massive category that assumes just because it’s old, means it’s good. Which isn’t true and is why we launched in the first place. The good news is that the category is starting to break up and will continue to do so over the coming years. Creating niches and subcultures within the online dumping ground of old things.
In the same way that new fashion exists in different styles, shapes and sizes, from brands with different points of view, (although we know that’s becoming increasingly debatable today), the same will start to happen in resale.
Our contemporary-vintage brand will hopefully stand apart more than ever because the category doesn’t address important and necessary factors of taste and longevity in the way we do. We have remained ruthless with our merchandise and content edit to earn credibility and trust in our contemporary-vintage space.
How would you describe your aesthetic?
For the androgynously chic who don’t want to be spoon fed for figured out.
How do you source your archive pieces? What is your process?
We created a network of sellers’ that people would want to be part of; something more modern and more provocative that they could be proud to be part of. We’re now very global, which means we have access to a vast and epic collection of clothes.
It also means we have the most global and therefore accurate view and understanding of market value and what items are worth, emotionally and financially.
We stubbornly stick to our principles and while it has been far from easy, private collectors now come to us and that means we get access to items that people would otherwise never be able to buy. When it comes to what we sell, we believe:
– Just because it’s old doesn’t mean it’s good.
– Timeless and classic is the kiss of death. Relevance and reverence are much more important.
– When a vintage brand or look becomes a ‘trend’, it’s time to move on.
– Can it be worn for a long time? We have to stop they cycle of resale and ultimately recycling too, which actually isn’t saving the planet or culture.
Which items tend to become your most treasured and why?
The clothes and shoes that flipped a sartorial finger to the fashion elite.
I appreciate the fact that Byronesque offers fashion history and detailed information on each piece it sells. How important is the story behind clothing to you?
It should be the reason people buy vintage clothes. Care about the backstory of an item, its creative integrity, originality and authenticity. Importantly we look for the obscure connections to an items’ history. Anyone can google the history of a brand and its designer.
We join culturally influential moments in pop-culture history that aren’t obvious. We hope it’s more inspiring and improves the emotional and financial value of an item.
What opportunities has your collecting afforded you?
Working with very creative people.
Martin Margiela Stilettos, 2009
The significant end of an era.
Miguel Adrover Cap Sweatshirt, 2000
He is one of the best designers in contemporary fashion history.
In your opinion, what does our love affair with archival fashion pieces mean for the fashion industry at large?
It has no soul.
What advice would you give to someone starting their archival fashion collection?
Find the era and the subculture that you are most inspired about, look into that and go down the rabbit holes until you discover something you love.
Wait for the adrenaline to hit. Not eBay bid-winning adrenaline, it’s more important than that. That’s just cortisol levels, the adrenaline I’m talking about is “I genuinely care about this item and its impact on culture and how it inspires me now.”
Jeremy Scott Trench Coat, 2000
It was an especially creative time in NYC’s Lower East Side.
Montana Reissue, Oversized Coat, 2019
I’m proud that we made it and many copied it.
What have been the high points of your collecting?
Working with Michele Lamy, James Lavelle and re-issuing Claude Montana with Gareth Pugh.
by Lily Rimmer