I was out with a friend recently when I noticed the brand-new handbag slung over her shoulder. Buttery-soft caramel leather, immaculate piping, roomy enough to hold a laptop; it looked expensive.As it turns out, it wasn’t. My friend Amy had bought her nearly-new Proenza Schouler ruched tote for less than $700 from luxury resale platform The RealReal – a steal considering it usually retails for $2000.
I was sold. That night I went home and scanned resale platforms like TheRealReal, ebay and Vestiaire Collective where pristine bags from the likes of Chanel and Dior, as well as more affordable brands like Acne and Mansur Gavriel, can sell for half price.Amy and I aren’t the only ones turning to preloved to purchase luxury handbags. A recent report by ebay and The Business Of Fashion found that the luxury resale market is flourishing, with 26 per cent of US luxury shoppers purchasing a secondhand luxury accessory in the past 12 months.
Jane Thompson, the director of one of Australia’s most established luxury resellers, Blue Spinach, agrees that demand for preloved handbags is soaring.“It’s changed a lot in such a short period of time,” she says, adding that only a decade or so ago luxury fashion wasn’t readily available to Australian consumers. But with more brands opening stores in Australia, supply and demand for designer handbags – both new and secondhand – has grown.
Covid also helped spur on demand, she notes, as people had time to contemplate their consumption habits.And then of course there are the financial considerations. Chanel increased the price of its handbags not once but twice in 2023, and there are rumblings among diehard fashion followers that the older pieces at some brands feature higher-quality materials.
“At the start of the year we see a massive surge in quote enquiries for customers wanting to sell their pre-loved bags. Customers are really in the ‘refresh and new beginnings’ mindset at the start of the new year and that often involves closet refreshes resulting in a surge of beautiful bags coming into Luxe.It. Fwd.”
– Miranda Gillespie, founder of Luxe.It.Fwd
Prada
$599.38
Marni
$1,555.52
Jacquemus
$2,124
Louis Vuitton
$1,100
Meet The Women Making Thousands From Their Wardrobes
BY CAROLINE ZIELINSKI
Read more about how vintage bags became fashion's new status symbol—and the experts tips on how to buy one—at PRIMER.
READ IT HERE
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