Byronesque: The Future of Vintage

by: Emily Kirkpatrick

Launched this week, Byronesque is a new e-commerce site that brings together the best designer vintage from all over the globe to create a carefully curated collection of high-end, one of a kind goods.

Byronesque gathers select items from prestigious vintage shops, like One of a Kind in London, Quidam de Revel in Paris, and The New World Order in New York, as well as a number of private showrooms, pulling pieces that blur the line between wearable and avant-garde, by designers like Jean Paul Gaultier, Vivienne Westwood, Yohji Yamamoto, Thierry Mugler, and Azzedine Alaïa.

Photo: Boris Ovini

Although this site is a destination for designer vintage, Byronesque makes it clear that that by no means implies retro. The pieces you’ll find on the site are just as contemporary, cool, and cutting-edge now as when they first came out, demonstrating not only the innovation and foresight of these labels, but also the ability of truly good design to transcend the times and the trends of when it was created.

The Web site was launched in part to bring these vintage goods to an audience that wouldn’t have otherwise had access, but also as a reaction to the increasing popularity of “fast fashion” and kitschy or fake vintage that is flooding the marketplace.

Byronesque seeks to “treat vintage fashion with the same progressive creativity as contemporary fashion magazines and boutiques,” appreciating the item’s flaws and wear and tear as hallmarks of its history and unique story. Much like their namesake, Lord Byron, Byronesque is intrigued by both the romantic and the gothic, exemplified in their penchant for dark, subversive, and intelligent design.