The real trend of fashion and luxury fashion of the last year was the “second-hand”: the fashion victims could not help but move towards platforms that offer a new way of shopping by combining garments from the best second-hand fashion houses hand and the purchasing methodology exclusively via the web.
The reselling experiences offered by platforms ranging from Stockx to TheRealreal, from Depop to Vestiaire collective, up to Vintag and the Italian Rebelle, offer the user not only the opportunity to choose garments of iconic brands at lower prices but, especially in these pandemic months, they have given the fashion addicted community the opportunity to continue to be active through the possibility of buying safely, on reliable channels and with the great satisfaction of being able to share their luxury purchases even during the lockdown.
A real trend in the luxury world
Not just a passion for shopping: the desire to embrace, even by consumers, an eco-friendly shopping idea has become a real trend in the world of luxury: a recent study by BCG, in collaboration with Vestiaire collective, found that 68% of buyers indicate in first or second position the desire for a more active participation in the second-hand market, precisely to embrace a type of purchase more in line with values related to respect for the environment and responsible consumption.
The resale phenomenon, estimated by BCG between 30 and 40 billion dollars, has surpassed traditional fashion in terms of turnover in these months of economic crisis and health emergency.
If consumers love reuse and if the platforms that offer reselling are now a consolidated reality in the world of luxury fashion, then the great luxury houses did not take long to understand the importance of supporting and contributing to the development of this particular sector of the market: first of all Gucci which has signed a partnership agreement with The Realreal to promote circular fashion; Burberry also aligned itself with the trend and signed an agreement with the American platform, which has become such a solid reality that it entered the stock market only a few months ago.
The pandemic effect
Whether it is a “pandemic effect” for which people have more time to rearrange their wardrobes, whether it is the birth of a new type of consumer who does not give up on high fashion but chooses eco-friendly garments or whether it is of the emergence of professional platforms that offer very pleasant second-hand shopping experiences, what matters are the numbers: luxury has become democratic; the reselling market has grown exponentially; the items purchased and put on sale in this period registered a + 44%.
