Amal Clooney, a passionate collector of vintage clothing, has hired the greatest archival sleuths in the world to look for rare Dior slips from the John Galliano era and handkerchief dresses by Lee McQueen for her. one of them? With the Olsen twins as her principal clientele, Marie Blanchet, a former employee of Vestiaire Collective and William Vintage, launched her own upscale concierge service, Mon Vintage, in November 2020.
For Blanchet, purchasing historically significant clothing is an emotional experience rather than one that results from winning a bidding battle. She says, “Vintage is the greatest years; it’s those fashion moments that were significant; the definitive shows, the definitive items; a change of line, a change of cut; a pop-culture [sensation].” Clooney, a renowned attorney who understands the depth of Blanchet’s study, obviously likes the storytelling that goes along with donning antiques. Her ability to go from her job to a date night has gained some notoriety.
Blanchet procured the diva a Jean-Louis Scherrer by Stéphane Rolland couture 2007 gown to wear to Buckingham Palace in addition to the spring 2001 John Galliano green beaded chevron slip she wore to the Ticket to Paradise premiere. The additional gems? The archival expert, whose line of work is predicated on the highest sensitivity, adds, “I’d rather keep things quiet. As Yves Saint Laurent once remarked, “What is significant in a garment is the woman who is wearing it.”
When searching for nostalgic propositions that might pique Clooney’s interest —“I don’t sell vintage pieces, I sell a vision of fashion”—Marie keeps three things in her mind. The provenance of the product, her instinct and the image of Amal herself. The rest is like a magic alchemy that only skilled curators seem to be able to harness
Consider that Galliano, for instance. When Blanchet asked Marie to price up her original McQueen archive, she met the private collector who provided the slinky iridescent dress. Blanchet was so thrilled about the possibility that she immediately flew from Paris to South London to see her. The artefacts were so magnificent, Marie recalls, “that when she started showing her collection, I truly felt like an archaeologist who just discovered Pompeii without knowing Pompeii existed.”
