An Evening with William Vintage
I must admit that I was nervous on the way to meeting William Banks- Blaney, dubbed "The King of Vintage" by Harper's Bazaar. I was ready to be very intimidated by a man who regularly works with Victoria Beckham and is frequently featured on the Rachel Zoe project. However, I was pleasantly surprised as I, a mere mortal, felt instantly comfortable and at ease as I walked into Banks-Blaney's appointment-only store.
In 2009, Vogue's Vintage King (casual) began holding pop- up sales, offering clients haute couture pieces from his vintage collection. His collection grew as did his clientele, with around 400 people attended one of his sales. In 2010, Banks-Blaney opened his store, WilliamVintage, and launched his online store in 2013. Some of his clients include Rihanna, Lily Allen, Gillian Anderson, Anja Rubik, Tilda Swinton, Lana Del Ray, Emma Thompson, and Nigella Lawson.
When I talked to William and asked him questions about his work and success, I was met with overwhelming warmth and modesty. He stressed the importance of loving what you do and the importance of finding your niche. He said that he had always loved clothes, and so he started by learning everything he could about the fashion industry. William jokes that through his work, he has learned more about the dry-cleaning industry than he ever cared to know. He found his niche in vintage haute couture and his business has grown from there, selling pieces to museums around the world and even to design houses such as Louis Vuitton for inspiration.
William is also remarkably down-to- Earth when talking about the fashion industry. He points out that he is "not curing cancer", but selling dresses. However, he later expressed that his favorite moments come from seeing the transformational nature of the right dress on a newly recovered cancer victim or the happiness on the face of a client who suddenly sees herself as beautiful.
(At this point I was struggling to keep from crying, so I will continue on to the more fun part) :
The King holding the work of The King:
A 1957 dress from Yves Saint Laurent's first collection for Dior after Christian Dior's death.
an interior corset inside a vintage Dior.
Holding a gorgeous Ceil Chapman dress from the 1950s
A ruffled Lanvin evening dress from 1960
holding an actual Delphos dress by Mariano Fortuny.
There are two in the WilliamVintage collection.
A beaded bolero by Elsa Schiaparelli
A 1939 suit jacket by the Father of Haute Couture himself,
Charles Frederick Worth.
(Tag pictured above)
The beading on this Norman Hartnell haute couture dress from 1970 caught my eye instantly.
A cape by Jean Lanvin in the designer's signature color
More Lanvin blue
The dress on the left has been purchased by a German museum for display.
My perfect shade of candy pink
A 1951 Balenciaga suit... before Herve did bandage
& the matching skirt fit for an owner with a 17" waist.
Antonia tries on a beaded silk chiffon Victorian cape from 1890
"That's the best thing a girl can be in this world; a beautiful little fool"
"Man up and try on a dress"
- Okay William, I think I can do that.
This is where my dreams come true
electric soul
"he's my sun, he makes me shine like diamonds"
wearing a Dior New Look dress from 1954.
But first, William, let me take a #selfie
^^^he told me to close my eyes...
Remember that Ceil Chapman dress?
hopefully I'll get to borrow it at least once
or twice
But I didn't leave empty handed
1950s Balmain
having a princess moment
And hopefully many more to come in my new treasure dress!
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