fashion education

Secondhand And Fashion Resale

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Reading Time: 2 minutes

Circularity or marketing trick?


Driven by the popularity of secondhand, the fashion resale market is growing strongly, not only for luxury brands but mass-market brands, too.

“The explosion of cheap, mass-market brands over the last two decades has meant the secondhand market is now awash with polyester party dresses and synthetic sweaters.” via Business Of Fashion.

As a matter of fact, “I’m searching for a little something” – is still the NR 1 customers’ request. In other words, it means a low-priced, easy-to-purchase, easy-to-get-rid-of piece of clothing. Though we don’t sell that product, we often hear that request. That’s what people want! Sadly, the attractive price for clothes is now a burden we all pay. In fact, clothes end up in landfills, where trillions of “little things” are towering, polluting lands and seas. So, you may wonder, was it really so convenient?

Since our wardrobes are packed with clothing, reselling is a way to clean them out. Of course, donating, too, helps.

Secondhand and fashion resale: pros and cons


From the perspective of circularity, reselling represents a valuable opportunity. First, it prevents clothes from ending up in the garbage bin, giving them a longer life. Second, it makes luxury brands accessible.

But, in the case of fast fashion, there’s a big issue with reselling: mass-market brands use circularity to greenwash. Indeed, the fact that fast-fashion brands push people to resell their clothing is a marketing trick. They do it to sell more fast-fashion items. Reselling fast fashion to purchase more fast fashion is pure madness. Instead of limiting the problem, brands make it bigger by feeding the system.

Secondhand and fashion resale make sense for quality products, as clothing made to last deserves a second life, though brands should control production anyway. But it is dangerous with fast fashion. In fact, we’d better avoid producing new garbage at all, which would be the ultimate solution to fashion waste.

How do you make a positive impact? Don’t buy fast fashion. Buy less, far much less, buy better!

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Fashion & Global Boiling

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How can the fashion industry adapt to the extreme weather?


Temperatures are peaking, hitting a record around the globe, and as we have entered the global boiling era, the fashion industry needs to rethink its business models.

“Climate change is here, it is terrifying, and it is just the beginning. The era of global warming has ended and the era of global boiling has arrived.” – said the UN Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres.

Scientists confirmed that July has been one of the world’s hottest months. Of course, what is happening is consistent with the predictions, but the change seems to accelerate faster than expected.

Though Guterres calls for immediate action in order to turn the tide, we are not optimistic. Big corporations will not approach degrowth, which would be the only valuable possibility to reduce our impact on the planet.

For the fashion industry, global boiling means getting ready with a different plan, a leaner way to operate the business. In fact, this new normal makes it difficult to think in terms of foreseeable seasons, as the industry has done so far.

Therefore, fashion brands should rethink how they set up their Spring-Summer collections by presenting patterns, fabrics, and silhouettes designed for a new reality. Most importantly, they need to reconsider how they sell to retailers.

Retailers, on their hand, need to order from brands that allow them to purchase smaller quantities and give them the possibility to reorder. In fact, ordering six months earlier is not really smart since it is impossible to foresee the weather in the long run.

Global boiling: possible solutions for the fashion industry


Pre-order: retailers can show the products to their customers and then pass an order to the brand.
Made-to-order: products made within certain specifications, such as materials, colours, and dimensions, but in a limited range of options.
Customised product: clothes or accessories created for an individual customer, according to their needs and requirements.

Benefits:
All the above models would limit overproduction and fashion waste. Also, they would help improve inventory allocation.
Retailers would sell during the season, limiting frequent markdowns because of overstocking.
Products would keep a higher value throughout the year.

People would purchase fewer garments but better quality.

Something needs to change in the fashion system. The industry must be flexible and adapt to specific seasons and unforeseeable events.

Fashion must consider global boiling, or it will end up boiled.

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Education To Value

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How to survive in a world of destructive overproduction


Going from “fashion is dead” to a style rebirth as the reflection of a thoughtful lifestyle involves a renewed education to value. Which, in an era of devastating overproduction and immense confusion, takes time, a lot of time. Also, patience and humble work–getting rid of pointless stuff. And silence rather than loudness and obsessive presence. Because it can be ok to post on social media, but for instance, if designers’ voices speak louder than their product, they are not for us.

The paradox of sustainability


Paradoxically, because of sustainability, buzz increased, yet no change ever happened. Noise, just a lot of noise. Who’s the greenest one? The show is on, but the conversation is demeaning. Thanks to green capitalism, in fact, many individuals found new job opportunities even though it has nothing to do with being sustainable. It’s about making money, not making change. Apart from climate activists, sustainability and green capitalism turned out to be a profitable bandwagon.

Indeed, green brushstrokes seemed very cool. And what’s absurd is that most people buy into it.

Therefore, from the perspective of seeking value and offering value, favouring interactions in smaller communities seems more effective than social media screaming. More real, more human. Fake conversations lead nowhere.

Education to value: what does it mean?


How can you educate yourself to value?
Start by avoiding mass production, mass tourism, and intensive farming. Specifically, in fashion, rediscovering value means developing an understanding and appreciation of good design, as well as learning about quality and artisanal craftsmanship.
Respect workers’ rights and human rights, and care about whether workers receive fair wages.. Above all, it’s essential to work within the planet’s means.

It involves the need to eliminate the garbage that brands try to sell, and not wanting to be part of a system that wants to promote it. Rather than buying pointless stuff, buy nothing at all.

Break the moulds.
Escape marketing slogans,
Search for quality, not quantity.
Because education to value means learning that less is more, even if the rest of the world still follows another direction.

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Jane Birkin, Farewell

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A style icon: the impact of inspiration on reality


On July 16, Jane Birkin passed away aged 76 in her Parisian home. The British-born singer, actress and muse has shaped the image of the French allure. Indeed, she will represent the symbol of Bohemian coolness forever.

Cinema, music and style icon, she also inspired the famous Hermes Birkin bag. Actually, she hadn’t just provided the inspiration, but she had suggested what kind of capable handbag she needed when she had met the French maison president on a flight.

Of course, everyone knows Jane Birkin. So, the purpose of our exploration is not to revisit her life. In fact, you may watch “Jane by Charlotte,” the documentary released by her daughter, Charlotte Gainsbourg, in 2021. Instead, we want to analyse to what degree Jane Birkin, regarded by other women as a style example, impacted women’s fashion in reality.

Jane Birkin: timeless style


Undoubtedly, her 60s and 70s outfits marked women’s fashion, making her a point of reference for all designers. But, her latest style represented an evolution: white men’s shirts, oversized coats, blazers, boyfriend jeans and white denim, and flat shoes. Yes, in some interviews, she said she started wearing men’s clothes (now fashion marketing has discovered genderless style). Rugged but refined, mannish but feminine, clothes mixed with that touch of nonchalant elegance typical of someone who can say: ‘my clothes are nice, but I look cool because I am so.’ Indeed, style goes beyond clothes: it reflects that inner quid that clothes alone cannot give. And her style reflected her attitude. In the end, people can buy the bag, but reaching that level of coolness is another story.

However, her effortless style passed through time and evolved with a sense of timelessness, making her an eternal muse.

She could choose to age according to contemporary standards. On the contrary, she left her face to show the signs of time, with no trace of plastic surgery. A woman who aged beautifully–true to herself and always elegant.

Jane Birkin: from inspiration to reality


Now think about women who celebrate her as a style icon. How do these women process their style from inspiration to reality? What do they wear? And how are they manipulating their image? Swollen faces, bigger and bigger, to the point of losing traces of human features. Smooth but fake. Bodies are an explosion of plastic. Not to mention clothes that have no idea of elegance.

So, from idolising a muse to reality, what goes wrong? If women say: “we love her style” – what happens afterwards? We’re curious to hear some comments.

Ultimately, no woman in our contemporary universe could wear a naked dress as Jane Birkin did. Her timeless, chic, unforgettable style is on the verge of extinction.

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How To Cut Fashion Waste

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Reuse and repair in the era of fast fashion


In order to cut fashion waste, the French government will pay a repair bonus to help people with their damaged clothes and shoes. An amount from 6€ to 25€ will cover the repairing cost of garments in workshops or cobblers who will be part of the scheme.

Indeed, an alarming amount of clothes end up in landfills. Since fashion brands keep putting out new garments in huge quantities, governments must find solutions.

The point on fashion waste


The news sounds really great. But let’s consider a few things:

Would anyone throw away clothes of value? Of course, not. Or, at least, it is extremely rare. The garments ending up in the garbage bin aren’t pieces made to last but clothing intentionally made for that purpose. Buy, wear and toss. That is mass production: low prices, poor quality and slaves for manufacturing (individuals no one cares about because if they did, they would stop buying certain products).

In fact, over the last twenty years, purchasing fast-fashion clothing and shoes has become popular. Rich and poor people enjoy it. For the rich is a whim, and for the low-income a necessity. But both love purchasing products that last like a bag of chips.

Product longevity is one of the principles that attests to sustainability. What demonstrates product longevity?
1- Good design
2- Quality materials
3- Skilled craftsmanship

What if the repair cost is higher than the average price tag?


Now, it makes sense to put a patch on the bleeding, but common sense should guide human choices. Therefore, can we cut fashion waste without stopping fast fashion? It doesn’t seem likely. In fact, curing the illness without eliminating the cause isn’t a good strategy.

Here comes the second point, if the French government wants to fight fashion waste, why did they allow the Shein runway in Paris? It may sound like a joke, but in the case of ultra-fast fashion, the repair costs would be higher than the price tag! Does it make any sense?

On how to cut fashion waste, there’s no easy solution. But for sure, we need a more radical approach.

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