Women Pioneers in the Pre-Loved Luxury Industry
W
omen have long played a significant role in pioneering the luxury fashion industry, both as designers and as businesswomen.
Coco Chanel, as an example, needs no introduction. Her creativity, innovation, ability to market and adapt, and her business acumen made her not just one of the earliest and most influential female designers in luxury fashion whose impact on the industry continues to be felt today, but a trailblazing businesswoman, too.
As a designer, she revolutionized women’s fashion, broke the fashion rules of her time and put women at the centre of her creations by using elements of men’s fashion to create new, androgynous silhouettes that were comfortable and practical for women.
When it came to business, Chanel was one of the first designers to build a strong brand identity using the interlocking “CC” logo that is globally and instantly recognisable. She was a master of marketing, using her personal relationships with influential figures to generate buzz and build her brand. She was a savvy businesswoman who knew exactly how to expand the Chanel brand into nothing short of a global empire, and recognised the importance of adaptability, continuing to evolve her business and designs throughout her career.
It has never just been Coco though, we can look to Diane von Furstenberg, Mary Quant, Donatella Versace, Vivienne Westwood, Vera Wang and many, many more women who have made significant impacts on the fashion industry.
What’s making a significant impact on the fashion industry now? The explosion of the resale market for luxury fashion. The pre-owned market is now estimated to be worth billions and is expected to continue to grow as consumers become increasingly conscious of the environmental and ethical impact of their purchases, as well as looking for more and more ways to access high-end brands and products at more affordable prices. According to a study from Bain & Company, the global second-hand luxury goods market grew sixty-five per cent between 2017 and 2021.
According to another report by McKinsey, these consumer buying patterns have been accelerated by the pandemic, digitalization of how we shop, and a generation of younger buyers who are much more likely – and willing – to purchase pre-loved products.
One particular factor driving the pre-loved luxury market is the rise of online marketplaces, and it comes as no surprise that women are taking the lead in this growing industry, just as Coco, Diane, Mary, Vivienne, Donatella and Vera did – and still are – doing with their work.
Take Fanny Moizant and Sophie Hersan, co-founders of Vestiaire Collective, who have been on the front-line of pre-loved luxury since launching their business way back in 2009, starting out selling pieces they’d simply sourced from their friends.
Fast forward to now, and according to their website, they have twenty-five thousand pieces submitted by their global community a week.
At the time of their launch, a business focusing on circularity and sustainable fashion was a pioneering move from the founders, who have said that authentication has always been at the heart of their business. And, for good reason.
It wasn't until recently that EBay was finding buyers were hesitant to purchase larger-ticket pieces from their website. And so, EBay launched authenticity guarantee services for their premium retail products such as sneakers and watches, which led to a multi-million-pound uplift in sales, Ebay said.
Identifying the importance of this process and putting it at the heart of Vestiaire Collective’s model, was nothing short of a power move from Fanny, Sophie and the team, and has certainly been a key part of their success.
Julie Wainwright is another pioneer in the pre-loved luxury marketplace, founding The RealReal in 2011, which has now become another one of the most successful online luxury resale businesses.
In the first two years, The RealReal sold over two-hundred-and-fifty-thousand items, and today has over seven million subscribers. According to Crunchbase, The RealReal has secured over $356m in funding over the last ten years, which is further proof of the growing strength of the resale luxury market, and further adds to Julie’s achievements of building a business which has consumer faith at its core.
Last year, Julie stepped down from her role as CEO of The RealReal, but not before the company saw total sales for the first quarter of 2022 increase by forty-eight per cent.
And now, Sabrina Sadiq, founder of Luxury Promise is another woman proudly and fiercely taking the pre-loved luxury industry by storm.
Launched in 2017, Luxury Promise is “on a mission to disrupt the luxury resale market through our community-first approach” Sabrina told UK Tech News after raising $11m of funding in 2021, which included backing from Pierre Denis, former CEO of Jimmy Choo.
Their live shopping shows is one way they have certainly disrupted the market, by allowing customers to ask questions about products in real-time and then being able to browse and purchase products all through its website.
Luxury Promise differs from other marketplaces by – alongside Sabrina and her highly trained team - using artificial intelligence to help price and authenticate items, being the first in the resale luxury market to do so.
Luxury Promise has seen rapid growth since its launch just six years ago, and has successfully grown a loyal community of fashion lovers all over the world. Further helping the sustainability effort, is it’s one-year warranty, in-house repairs service and buy-back programme.
The pre-loved luxury fashion market is expected to continue to grow, and who better leading the way than these trailblazing women.