From the gourmet sandwiches served on hand-painted ceramic plates and sparkling water poured into hand-blown glasses, to the soft, modular duvet seats and martini tables with a center tube to hold a taper candle or single flower stem, it’s clear that a visit to the William White Emporium is not just another apparel industry market appointment.

Yes, there are a few racks of clothes, but the store on New York’s Canal Street — and its studio across the street — serve to truly immerse visitors in the world of Will Cooper and his lifestyle brand, William White.

Cooper has had an entrepreneurial bent since he was a child. He started his first business when he was 10 — Party Players Production — serving as a DJ and working weddings, bar mitzvahs and school dances.…