WITH SECONDHAND AND VINTAGE BECOMING MORE POPULAR, RESALE IS MOVING UP IN LUXURY FASHION, WITH SEVERAL BRANDS NOW LOOKING AT SELLING THEIR OWN PRE-LOVED GARMENTS. THIS IS ANOTHER STEP FORWARD FOR CIRCULAR FASHION, MOVING CLOTHING FROM ONE WARDROBE TO ANOTHER! WHEN YOU NO LONGER WANT TO KEEP AN ITEM OF CLOTHING IT CAN BE BROUGHT BACK TO LIFE AGAIN AND LOVED BY SOMEONE ELSE.

words by HOLLY KELSEY
photographs by ANDREW DAY + COURTESY OF MARA HOFFMAN

Reselling pre-loved garments is another solution to prevent clothing waste. Unlike fast fashion, these are quality pieces of clothing that are meant to last a lifetime. Instead of discarding clothes or donating them, you can sell them back to the brands to be reworn and appreciated by someone else. Fashion waste should be a thing of the past!

Resale promotes the art of conscious shopping and keeps items out of landfills; it bestows an infinite lifespan. This is also great if you saw an item, loved it but couldn’t afford it first time round. For the consumer, the great aspect of resale is that when these items are resold by brands they are cheaper than when they were first sold. When you see it in a brand’s pre-loved section it feels brilliant! That inaccessible, much coveted, sold out item can finally be yours.

There are many terms for pre-loved: resale and buyback program are just two you may already have heard of. It’s a valuable tool in a brand’s armoury to generate more revenue while producing less stock. And buying and selling pre-loved gives brands greater power over their merchandise. It means that they can have better quality and price control, ensuring that they are priced correctly and continue to reflect their desired brand image.

So how does resale work?

There are two great aspects to resale: you can either buy wonderful pre-loved clothes or you can sell your clothes back to the brand you bought them from (check out some of the brands which have adopted this initiative below). Some brands also have programs whereby you gain money or credits for exchanging your pieces. The items are authenticated, then uploaded online to be sold. Before the items are sold they are refurbished and restored to give them a new lease of life. So they’re basically new again.

Which brands are doing resale?

This particular business model means brands don’t have to produce as many new products to generate revenue. It’s a great additional source of income for the brands while being a wonderful example of circularity. It inspired those brands which make clothes that last, using quality fabrics, to create their own platforms to give clothes new lives with new owners. Here are just a few of the brands who have adopted this initiative:

Mara Hoffman

‘Full Circle’ has created a space where clients can buy and sell their pre-loved items. You can find the brand’s recognisable prints, strong silhouettes and vibrant colours in a range of jumpsuits, dresses and swimwear. The brand’s resale has an added bonus: they also stock plus sizes. The quality of these pieces is as good as new but with a reduced price point.

Oscar De La Renta

‘Encore’ - includes decades of runway fashion, anything from gowns to suits to jewellery.

Levi’s

‘Secondhand’ - offers shorts, jackets and jeans. There is even a trade-in program where you bring your old denim in and receive trade-in credits in return. You just make an appointment at a Levi’s Retail Store in the U.S and they’ll calculate your trade-in credits which range from $5 to $35 based on your item’s age, condition and original retail price.

Ganni

‘Repeat’ - the site enables consumers to buy and sell pre-loved items. They even have a physical store, ‘Ganni Postmodern’, selling second-hand items in Copenhagen.

Gucci

‘Vault’ - a concept space where pre-loved Gucci items have been carefully curated, including some rare vintage finds.

Eileen Fisher

‘Renew’ - established this take back program to extend the life of their clothes beyond the first purchase. They believe every garment has a story and that the story shouldn’t end. If a garment is damaged they recycle the textiles to create something new.

Mulberry

The leather goods brand has undertaken numerous initiatives with resale which includes pre-loved, a buy back program and a partnership with Vestiaire Collective called ‘Made to Last’.

Burberry

The British brand has collaborated with MyWardrobeHQ to resell their items (and you can even rent them too!).

In a Nutshell

Resale empowers the consumer to think, act and choose positively when shopping. It’s a growing, flourishing space, helping to save the planet, one pre-loved item at a time. You should always take pride in having and creating timeless pieces that won’t end up in landfill. Luxury brands are starting to normalise buying pre-loved clothing and we can’t wait to see more of it!

Mara Hoffman Full Circle

Oscar de la Renta Encore

Burberry x MyWardrobe HQ