Dive Brief:
- Vestiaire Collective has relaunched its vintage collection to include a “revamped catalog” of more than 250,000 items, according to a press release sent to Fashion Dive last week.
- The Archive Room section of the e-commerce resale platform features an updated online interface and will include monthly themed events. Prices will range from about $90 to approximately $27,000, per an email from Vestiaire, and the extended price range is designed “to encourage the community to explore the vintage offering and the stories behind the pieces.”
- Vintage items on Vestiaire sell 30% faster than non-vintage items, per the release, and the platform’s biggest supply is in clothing, followed by bags. The company added that, however, “bags, followed by clothing” are the most-sold vintage categories.
Dive Insight:
Vintage continues to drive fashion trends at awards shows and on the runways, and brands such as Gap are also leaning into history for inspiration.
“The popularity of vintage has been supported by consumers shifting towards investing in higher-quality, longer-lasting items to reduce their environmental impact,” Vestiaire said in the release.
However, vintage resale — especially when it comes to high-end goods — can be challenging in terms of authentication, and luxury companies such as Chanel are fighting back in court against unauthorized products and counterfeit goods sold at secondhand retailers.
Vestiaire says on its website that its counterfeit detection has a 99.9% accuracy rate. Its archival sale last year featured 80 pieces “dating back to the 1980s” from designers including Jean Paul Gaultier, Hermès and Maison Margiela, per the release.
Following that event, the platform “has refined and improved the vintage shopping experience by removing items that do not meet its vintage listing criteria,” which it says means an item must be at least 20 years old “or represent an iconic style of its period,” per the release.
The company said in the release that its “goal is to encourage an appreciation for vintage and improve the accessibility of vintage to consumers.”
The revamped vintage section is accompanied by an “art-inspired campaign” that features some of the platform’s vintage pieces re-imagined in classic paintings. Vestiaire will begin hosting monthly themed events, such as an April “celebration of the finest French vintage from Hermès, Chanel, Yves Saint Laurent, Balenciaga by Nicolas Ghesquière, Dior by John Galliano, and more.”
“Vintage is one of the fastest growing categories on Vestiaire Collective, and in the past five years it’s been at the heart of what our community is searching to buy,” Sophie Hersan, co-founder and fashion director of Vestiaire Collective, said in the release. “Designers are finding fresh sources of inspiration by looking into their archives, and given the desirability of vintage, we're seeing more and more celebrities wearing it on the red carpet to stand out. While it was once associated only with fashion collectors and connoisseurs, we’re seeing a greater appreciation for vintage across the board because each piece has a unique history, an emotion and a story to tell, as well as being the more sustainable alternative, making it extremely valuable.”
The global secondhand market grew 18% to $197 billion in 2023, 15 times faster than retail, according to the ThredUp 2024 Resale Report, which stated that on average, U.S. consumers spent nearly half their 2023 clothing budget on secondhand items.
Meanwhile, The RealReal’s 2023 Luxury Resale Report stated that demand on its platform for “products that show signs of heavier wear,” is up 265%, and demand for bags in less-than- perfect condition is up 130%.
