How high-end fashion is leading the way in sustainability chic

Resale isn’t just an investment in sustainability. It’s an opportunity for designer fashion brands to re-engage customers and tap into a whole new market segmentation.

As the world has become increasingly conscious of sustainability, the fashion resale market has been on the rise. Consumers are
looking for ways to extend the life cycle of their clothing, and brands that embrace this trend have the opportunity to tap into a new market of environmentally-conscious shoppers.

For luxury fashion brands, however, the resale market can be seen as a threat to their business model, which is built on the idea that their products are highly coveted and hard to come by.

So how can luxury brands make resale desirable while still maintaining the exclusivity and prestige that is central to their brand identity?

One approach is for luxury brands to take control of the resale market themselves, rather than watching as thrifty customers put last season’s handbag up on a site like eBay.

“Resell was this dirty little secret happening on the side. … It’s now called circularity.”

– Alison Loehnis, CEO, Yoox Net-a-Porter

Take, for example, Yoox Net-a-Porter (YNAP), which is now a major player in the luxury clothing resale market.

The online retailer’s CEO, Alison Loehnis, has long been interested in the concept of circularity within fashion. In fact, the company’s early days were focused on providing a “home” for end-of-season products, which led to the launch of the Outnet.

Resale: From ‘dirty little secret’ to the circular economy

“It feels like it wasn’t that long ago that the idea of luxury and resale were somehow mutually exclusive,” noted Alison. “Resell
was this dirty little secret happening on the side. … It’s now called circularity.”

In 2022, YNAP partnered with Singapore-based resale platform Reflaunt to offer customers the option to sell their pre-loved
designer items. Customers could sell through their existing YNAP account and have the option to convert the sale into credits for future purchases.

Partnering with a global platform such as Reflaunt means that the items have a better chance of being sold. Products are listed across 30 marketplaces that reach a combined 100 million shoppers.

“For the same wardrobe in London, that person could be selling her sneakers on GOAT in the US while her coat could be getting
immense traction in Germany on Rebelle, and her handbag could be getting the best payout on Level Shoes in Dubai,” explained Reflaunt founder and CEO Stephanie Crespin.

But are customers of luxury goods from the YNAP site actually interested in buying and selling used – or pre-loved – bags and clothing? The stats say yes.

According to Alison, almost 50 percent of customers were either actively selling or contemplating resale before the partnership with Reflaunt. That figure has risen to 75 percent since.

Stephanie highlighted the lucrative nature of a luxury fashion brand controlling resale. Reflaunt has found that 70 percent of
YNAP sellers on its network reinvest, opting for shopping credits over cash. And, following this, they go on to spend three times the value of their shopping credits.

“Feedback from customers is that they enormously value the convenience – how easy it is – but also the fact that they can resell their entire wardrobe,” added Stephanie.

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Main image of Stephanie Crespin, co-founder and CEO of Reflaunt, and Alison Loehnis, CEO, Yoox Net-A-Porter, at Web Summit 2022: Eóin Noonan/Web Summit (CC BY 2.0)