Vintage, preloved, or gently worn — whatever you call it, secondhand clothing has experienced a serious glow-up. Once burdened with preconceptions and stigmas, mindsets have shifted, and today wearing preloved clothing is a fashion movement. Education on the adverse effects of fast fashion and its impact on the planet has led to many of us adopting a more thoughtful and conscious approach to our fashion consumption.
A recent report from An Post found one in five of us have bought preloved clothing with close to half (45%) of respondents having sold clothing online. In a cost-of-living crisis, this has the added side-effect of being good for our wallets, but preloved clothing is not just a sustainable or cost-effective choice; it's also at the forefront of style. At this year's New York and London fashion weeks, eBay collaborated with The Council of Designers America and the British Fashion Council to highlight preloved items on catwalks, with daily drops of the items on the resell site after the fashion shows.
According to the site, nearly $50 billion worth of secondhand luxury goods were sold globally in 2023. The platform also revealed that preloved and refurbished items make up 40% of their gross merchandise volume, with searches for "vintage" averaging over 1,000 times per minute in June 2024. Archive looks are also de rigueur on the red carpet, with A-list celebrities from Zendya to Kendall Jenner, Nicole Kidman, and Naomi Campbell choosing vintage styles on the red ca.
