Backstage with Byronesque
Paris-based Nicolette Contursi interview UK-based Gill Linton, founder of Byronesque, an online editorial based shop for contemporary-vintage fashion in March 2020. Contursi and Linton discuss nostalgia, creative tension and their unique approach to image sourcing and posting in the digital age of Luxury Fashion.
By Nicolette Contursi
Nicolette: Where did your career begin before Byronesque?
Gill: I started out in traditional advertising where I learned how to make brands different and how to make the right people care about them in a lasting and meaningful way. It was the late ‘90s when ad-vertising was truly creative and challenged people to think versus the banal spoon-fed sales pitches it’s become. I was very lucky to work for the Saat-chi brothers when they launched their new start up agency. Guess that’s where I got the startup bug.
Nicolette: What led you to start Byronesque?
Gill: I had been consulting with fashion brands for a long time, helping them figure out how to stay special when all fashion brands were saying and doing the same thing. I was frustrated by the lack of convic-tion to break out of the fashion marketing machine and do something more meaningful.
Nicolette: What was the main goal behind the creation of Byronesque?
Gill: While vintage was still relatively small in 2011, it was considered to be ‘cool’ or ‘trendy’, mostly because there was still a stigma around used clothing and the fashion masses didn’t know what to buy or how to wear it. It was hard to find what we call Contem-porary-Vintage and there was little to no curation. I followed my hunch that if we could make vintage modern luxury, cool, creative and easy to find with a ruthless edit of merchandise, then we might be able to shift attitudes. So, we created a new cat-egory in fashion and Contemporary-Vintage was born. We might sell old clothes, but we consider ourselves to be a contemporary fashion brand.
Nicolette: What audience does Byronesque aim to reach?
Gill: We want to reach people through a shared attitude. We don’t care about demographics.
Nicolette: What is your definition of contemporary vintage?
Gill: Time wise, we start at Vivienne & Malcom’s Punk to items that are at least 10 years old. It’s best explained with our manifesto: We are an editorial based retailer, specialized in contemporary vintage fashion and subculture. We start at punk, with the irreverence to re-issue the overlooked and longed for. We think the future can 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 mar-gins and the misfit designers who alienated and inspired. We cater towards 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. Thus, the future of contemporary-vintage is proofed by Byronesque.
Nicolette: How do you determine if a piece belongs in the By-ronesque archive?
Gill: If it doesn’t match the criteria above and live up to our manifesto, we don’t want it. Anything else you can get on the Real Real.
Nicolette: When posting items on the website and app, how do you go about image selection?
Gill: We have a unique partnership with InDigital Media which means we have privileged access to runway photos dating back to the era we start selling from. The selection is very simple. Does the model look epic in it or does it bring to life what was happening in fashion at the time? For example, a Helmut Lang runway picture from 1999 captures the New York cool moment he created, and a Galliano for Dior or Alexander McQueen image is a stark reminder of a more creative time that people want more of today.
Nicolette: Why do you choose to only use archive photographs, rather than taking new photos?
Gill: It adds emotional and financial value to an item to show it was important enough to be a runway piece. What could be better or more exciting than seeing the item on the runway on supermodels? It’s our way of giving people privileged front row seats at the best shows in fashion history. With that said, we are planning to combine runway images with more of our own editorial / product photo shoots.
Nicolette: How do you think nostalgia plays a role in your marketing techniques?
Gill: life has changed in recent weeks, it will become more so, as culture adapts and perhaps changes forever. When people experience austerity in times such as these, we look for culture from more creative times. Fashion is about dreaming and fantasy and that’s going to be in higher demand than ever before.What separates easily accessed nostalgia and Byronesque’s nostalgia is the obscure connections within it that leads to new ways of looking at it.
Nicolette: Can you tell me a little about Byronesque’s Insta-gram account @ShitPicturesofGreatClothes? What was the idea behind the account? How did it start?
Gill: People send us photos of their clothes all the time. We’re always looking for creative tension in how we do things, and we loved the tension between amazing, rare and often very expensive clothes photographed on floors, hanging badly off doors, in various ways that demonstrate a disregard for the fragility and rarity of some of these pieces.
Nicolette: NC: How do you think this satire approach to sell-ing vintage affects the vintage market?
Gill: Fashion, especially vintage fashion can take itself very seriously. Our goal is to knock vintage off its pedestal and make it more accessible and inspire people to love it and wear it a long time – not keep it locked away in a closet.
