Britain’s Vintage King Goes Global

William Vintage  launches its debut e-commerce site today.. The move marks a new stage in the London-based company's development, bringing its vintage collection to a global audience.

"I wanted to launch e-commerce when we were able to do it properly," founder William Banks Blaney  told us. "A lot of people do it before they're ready, and I wanted to make sure that, not only do we have great stock, but that we also have a great team who can help me communicate my business in the way I wanted. It feels like we have both of those elements now - I hope that we've turned a corner. The decision was also driven by clients asking for a greater online presence - they felt that this level of vintage product wasn't available anywhere on the internet."

William Vintage currently has one store in London's Marylebone, but also tested demand in the marketplace with pop-up stores in Browns and Selfridges - both of which were met with much enthusiasm. Banks-Blaney is keen for his site to be representative of his store's renowned vintage treasures, as well as its high level of customer service: each purchase will come delicately wrapped in tissue paper, and then boxed using a magnetic seal.

The design of the platform was created by David Cowan of SiteWizard, who was tasked with ensuring that, although the overall look was to be chic and contemporary, it was never to overshadow the pieces themselves - which will include Dior, Balmain, Yves Saint Laurent and Chanel couture.

Blue Cocktail Dress By Balmain Couture 1954

"Although the clothing is vintage, nothing else about the site is," he said. "I wanted it to be sharp, clean and easy to use. David understood who we are and what I like. The photography is beautiful, but we wanted to add historic information about each item, too - so that shoppers really understand the resonance of what they're buying."

E-commerce aside, the company is set for a busy year. Banks-Blaney will hit television screens later this year in Channel 4 series This Old Thing, joining Dawn Porter to show the public how to wear vintage and how they can update existing wardrobe items. He's also finalising a book deal (the details of which can't be released yet), and he's in talks to open his first store in America.

"We've never had a big plan," he said. "We just react to new things and opportunities when they present themselves. It's worked so far, we just keep growing."