An Interview With Nines Vintage

I first heard of Nines Vintage when I attended the Emslie Creative press day back in April. I got lost in a sea of amazing vintage clothing including the stand out Versace checkerboard jacket. The woman behind Nines Vintage is Claire Walsh, who goes from market to market and corners over the globe in search of true handpicked Vintage pieces for her online site that will knock your socks off.

The site hosts home to classic pieces from the 60s to the 90s, with brand names such as Chanel, Moschino, Lanvin and Versace.

Claire your under the Spotlight…

How did the idea for Nines Vintage come about and how did you get started?

I had always surrounded myself with creative people, many of whom had set up their own businesses and were very successful, so I saw no reason that I couldn’t do the same. Fashion – especially vintage has always been a big part of my life. Essentially, I was wearing Nines before it was born and had a lot of comments on where my stuff was from and where to get it so decided to set up shop. With a little bit of help from some very special people, Nines was born.

It’s clear you have a passion for vintage clothing, what’s your favourite vintage item you have discovered?

It has to be the Wool and silk sweater by Lanvin, Paris du Faubourg Saint Honoré. From an exclusive collection by Antonio Castillo “Crylor et Laine”  in 1961. This is one of the oldest pieces we have on the site and being so old, I found it in a rather sorry condition with stains covering the most of the silk panel. I took it to Tower Bridge Dry Cleaners who specialise in silk cleaning, they worked some serious magic now it is in near perfect condition.

Nines Vintage are taking requests to find items, have you had any unusual requests?

I had someone ask for a Madonna style conical bra once, I found HIM one from Jean Paul Gaultier. Apparently it fitted like a glove.

Whose style do you admire?

I’ve been a huge fan of Daphne Guinness for a long time. She is such a style icon. She has such original sense of style, which is so rare. I find her so unique and unusual, she looks like some kind of sexy Haute Couture alien. My current girl style crush has to be Brooke Candy, she manages to pull off a cyber punk, rap bitch, pole dancer look all at once. I think that’s pretty skilful. I guess you could say that I like multidimensional style, I don’t think that you should be defined by what you wear.

Any words of advice for anyone wanting to start-up their own fashion business?

Never give up – persistence gets you everywhere. You set your own limits.

What are the next steps for Nines Vintage?

We have some exciting projects in the pipeline, but its all pretty top-secret so you’ll just have to keep your ears to the ground!

Thanks Claire! Check out Nines Vintage on Facebook and Twitter.