Why vintage clothes have become a status symbol and luxury item

In 2022, American model Bella Hadid wore a vintage white Gucci dress during the Cannes Film Festival in France. The dress was older than she was.

Created by designer Tom Ford during his time at the Italian fashion house, the long-sleeved dress was first worn on a catwalk in Milan, Italy, in the summer of 1996 — about ten months before Hadid was born.

“Vintage has become its own symbol of luxury status,” says Samina Virk, US CEO of Vestiaire Collective, a global secondhand couture platform.

“Now, it’s not always about what’s new. Sometimes it’s about what’s old and hard to find.”

Virk says customers search Vestiaire’s website for “Gucci archive” as well as Prada, Miu Miu and Saint Laurent.

“Archive” is an unofficial fashion industry term that basically means “over 10 years old but famous enough that you’ll remember it from a red carpet or ad campaign.” And “vintage trophy” is another expression used to identify these symbolic and highly sought after pieces.

British model and actress Emily Ratajkowski is one of the celebrities who started to give preference to pieces that were already loved in the past.

Vestiaire doesn’t just sell vintage products. It offers a dynamic database of designer clothes, shoes and accessories, sometimes from just a few seasons ago.

A quick search of the site’s new offerings turns up a pristine Khaite shapewear still with the tags on it, a pair of Dior high heels worn once and a Loewe bag that could have come straight from the showroom.

Buying these lightly used items certainly saves money — in most cases, around 50% to 70% of the retail price. And it can also represent a relief for the planet’s resources.

“Buying second-hand clothing increases its life cycle, on average, by 2.2 years,” Virk explains to the BBC. This means that it is not necessary to produce new clothes as quickly, as old clothes remain in use for longer.

“Of course, transporting clothes around the world consumes energy,” she continues. “But it’s not even close to producing a new pair of shoes.”

For Virk, Vestiaire is a better option in a failed consumer system. And it’s also a shot of dopamine for consumers who enjoy the thrill of the pursuit.

“You scroll down and suddenly you see that dress of your dreams, or you remember seeing it on a celebrity,” she says. “But since the cost is lower, you can buy it.”

“It’s similar to those collaborations between designers and brands. Vestiaire is bringing this access to more people.”

Reality bath

But before you get too excited, we have a reality check. Designer items at Vestiaire may be priced below market, but they’re still not cheap.

Miu Miu sunglasses, for example, are offered for around US$330 (around R$1,800) and a Vivienne Westwood velvet top costs around US$630 (around R$3,400).

Shoppers also need patience to find bargains. The downside of Vestiaire’s extensive archive is that it requires a lot of research (lots of scrolling and scrolling…) to find the wardrobe of your dreams.

To prevent dreams from turning into nightmares, Vestiaire trains and employs almost 100 “certifiers” around the world to verify the provenance of designers.

Many of them have worked on the luxury brands sold through the site and have in-depth knowledge of designer features such as stitching, leather quality and material such as the metal clasps and zippers used on most bags and shoes.

Still, the only completely sure way to know that your Chanel bag was actually made by the famous French brand is to buy it in its own boutique. But many shoppers appreciate the opportunities offered by Vestiaire and other resale sites like The RealReal and Fashionphile.

“We know that trust is non-negotiable,” says Virk. “We won’t sell an item if we don’t believe in it.”

Virk began to believe in fashion early in his life. When she was a teenager in the US state of Michigan, the Pakistani-American used fashion to merge her parents’ culture with her own.

“I grew up with this dichotomy, ‘How do I reconcile my parents’ culture, which they really want to make sure I preserve, with my life as an American teenager?'” she recalls. “To do this, I took my mother’s sewing machine and started making these traditional Pakistani clothes using modern American fabrics.”

“It was the 1990s and I wore all those pretty floral prints that we saw on girls on TV. It all came from the fact that I lived between two cultures. And the way I imagined to bring these cultures together was through fashion.”

In August 2024, Virk helped Vestiaire form another connection, this time with a TV hit: the Netflix series Emily in Paris.

The haute couture showcased in the series sparked the collective imagination of fashion fans. Emily’s outfits in Paris are fabulous and even over-the-top, but Virk knew that Vestiaire’s involvement would need to tie in with the production’s script.

“It was important that if the characters were going to mention Vestiaire, the script made sense and was authentic,” she explains. “It couldn’t just be crazy, fabulous clothes with no basis.”

Ultimately, Vestiaire became something of a fairy godmother for would-be pop star Mindy Chen. In the first part of the fourth season (spoiler!), the character sells her designer clothes on the platform, after running out of money in pursuit of her dreams.

Mindy is a fictional character, brilliantly played by actress Ashley Park. But real-life celebrities, such as Jessica Chastain, Julia Roberts and Kim Kardashian, have sold designer pieces through Vestiaire — often in charity sales.

Other stars and their stylists have also become known for selling outfits worn on red carpets on the platform. They keep themselves secret, just so that transactions go more smoothly.

Virk cannot disclose the names of these celebrities to the public. But if she did, it might lessen the excitement of searching for merchandise on the site and wondering if the $150 Loewe sweater you just bought was actually the same one worn by actress Zendaya in the movie Rivals (2024).

“It’s part of the fun of reselling,” highlights Virk. “You never know whose clothes you might end up wearing.”

Read the original version of this report (in English) on the BBC Culture website