Would you wear second-hand clothes

By?Praachi Raniwala

India's finally warming up to the idea of pre-loved fashion

Think about your wardrobe for a?second. If you look closely, you’ll find ample?hand-me-downs––a dress from an older sister, a t-shirt from a friend, a bag that you ‘borrowed’ from your mother, a pair of shorts you’re not sure how you got or an heirloom piece passed down by your grandmother. The tradition of?hand-me-downs and clothes passed on to friends, or family members is not new to India. It’s one we often take pride in.?

Internationally, buying a pre-loved item is considered a sustainable and legitimate mode of shopping, especially to bring home a Prada or Balenciaga bag for which you may not want to empty your bank account. While 2020 was the year of fashion disruption, McKinsey & Co. reported that discount and luxury still outperformed the wider market, and resale made up a large part of how people satiated their fashion urges––buying luxury at marked down prices during a pandemic. According to the online?second-hand?marketplace thredUP, the resale market is growing eleven times faster than traditional retail and will be worth $84 billion by 2030, compared to fast fashion’s $40 billion valuation.

“Sellers and buyers did not want anyone to know that they were involved in?second-hand?transactions.”

- Anvita Mehra

It explains why other prominent players in the game like Vestiaire Collective became a unicorn by raising $216 million in funding to surpass a valuation of $1 billion, and UAE-based The Luxury Closet secured a $14 million equity capital raise. Even British department store Selfridges launched Project Earth Resellfridges for consumers to buy and sell pre-loved men’

Along came a pandemic

While acquiring heirloom pieces is sacred, purchasing clothes or accessories that once belonged to a stranger was a concept mired in stigma for the longest time. Is it changing? Yes. The market has been comparatively slow on the uptake, but resellers are making their presence felt on home turf in the past year. In June, Pernia Qureshi and Shehlina Soomro launched Saritoria for pre-loved Indian wear as a solution for 1.8 billion South Asians to join the circular economy, says Somroo, whereas leading social marketplace Poshmark entered India in September. “During the lockdown, many of us realised how much ‘stuff’ we accumulate. South Asian clothes take up a lot of closet space and hardly get re-worn in comparison to western wear,” adds Somroo, stating that the brand has seen an average 150 per cent growth in sales month on month since its launch.

Fashion resale for hype brands are a slow process Image: Getty

The pandemic also allowed Confidential Couture––an Indian company that retails?second-hand?pieces by international luxury labels––to expand. In March, they launched a pop-up shop in Delhi’s Select Citywalk as an addition to their e-commerce platform. Nine months later, they’re still present on the shop floor—“Luxury consumers want to see the products before they purchase. So while the conversion is still online, this is a great physical touchpoint,” adds Anvita Mehra, the company’s founder and CEO.

In 2020, sneaker collectors Sahil Nandal and Shashvat Singhania cashed in on the growing popularity of sneaker culture in India and the dearth of hype brands to kickstart Free Society––a retail and resale platform, stocking labels like Off-White, Fear of God and Drew. The resale market for clothes that are here and now is wide open, “Serious collectors tend to opt for retail, but it's the ones who are getting initiated into the culture that are going for pre-loved clothes right now. Or people are going after a particular piece or design. It's more than just brand names—consumers are favouring classics, fits and materials as well,” says Nandal. Still, it’s a while to go before we see this space blow up. “The hype brand resale market in India is very niche. Give it 2-3 more years to really boom.”??

It's a mindset

Not everyone is easily convinced when it comes to buying someone’s?hand-me-downs. Even though the general perception of resale in India is that when you’re wearing or using another person’s waste, people around you might notice. “When I launched Confidential Couture about eight years ago, people were aghast. Everyone around me was convinced that no one would buy pre-loved fashion. The stigma was immense, and no one was open to the concept back then,” reveals Mehra. “Sellers and buyers did not want anyone to know that they were involved in?second-hand?transactions. Hence, the ‘confidential’ in our name.

“The hype brand resale market in India is very niche. Give it 2-3 more years to really boom.”

- Sahil Nandal

The same mindset had 22-year-old Aurangabad-based finance consultant Rhea Kothari contemplating pre-loved before taking the plunge. “It felt demeaning even to follow these marketplaces on Instagram,” she admits. But when Kothari found out her friend in London purchased a pre-loved Chanel bag, it encouraged her to go down the route too. “Luxury brands are constantly hiking their prices. I have just started earning, so marked down options are more appealing. If shopping pre-loved gives me a Chanel bag on my shoulder, why not?” Kothari has a point, Chanel has continually raised its global prices since 2019, and most of its classics saw a 60 per cent hike by December 2021. Now she turns to Luxury Pop to sell her old designer bags, and to Sauve Box to buy designer accessories.

Twenty-seven-year-old digital marketeer Devika Bhavsar found herself on Poshmark two months ago. “I shop a lot from Zara and H&M but don’t like to repeat those pieces after a few wears or Instagram posts.” Bhavsar has already sold over 10 fast fashion items on its app. “I like buying from thrift stores on Instagram too. The ones from Delhi and the North-East like Vanilla On Toast, Shop With Loveee and Pretty Preloved have some really cool designs. If it’s unique and in good condition, I don’t care if it belonged to someone else first,” she adds.

Saritoria looks at pre-loved Indian wear as a solution for 1.8 billion South Asians

The price is right

Bhavsar, who previously worked in fashion, is also propelled by the fact that she is supporting a circular economy––a concept many of her friends are still coming to understand. International acceptance and celebrity patronage have played a significant role in normalising pre-loved shopping in India. But while the premise remains the same, the salient features are unique to this market. Pricing, for instance. “India is a very price-sensitive market. Prices of pre-loved pieces are lower here compared to the international market because Indians love a good bargain,” explains Mehra. She also talks about the customer’s need for additional information and handholding. “Even when the product and its details are listed online, most shoppers want to see additional pictures on WhatsApp or a video call,” adds Mehra, whose bestsellers are handbags by Louis Vuitton, Gucci, Chanel, Prada, Dior and Saint Laurent. Most of her sellers are long-time luxury consumers from metro cities. While buyers tend to be aspirational, their biggest demand comes from cities like Ranchi, Raipur, Chandigarh, Goa and the North-East.?

Saritoria’s best-selling category is Indian occasion wear and couture, and their customers are very particular about fit. “We list all measurements in detail,” says Somroo. The company also pays special personalised attention to the sellers. “We have a special concierge service to make it smoother for sellers to list their products.” While customers looking to shop or sell only need to log onto the app or website, retailers have the additional responsibility of authentication. Both Confidential Couture and Saritoria have an in-house whetting manual. The former also works with two authentication agencies in the US for every product they list.

“During the lockdown, many of us realised how much ‘stuff’ we accumulate. South Asian clothes take up a lot of closet space and hardly get re-worn in comparison to western wear.”

- Shehlina Soomro?

As Mehra sees it, the rise of pre-loved fashion in India was a long-time coming. “India has a huge aspirational population; prices are the only barriers. Moreover,?second-hand?also comes with the opportunity to reduce waste, carbon footprint and new consumption. We are promoting the culture of buying into quality that can last for decades.”

Mindful consumption

The most sustainable piece of clothing is the one that’s already in your closet. As overconsumption, overproduction and damaging environmental impact caused by the fashion industry continues to increase, the?second-hand?clothing market has emerged as a pivotal solution to help combat wastefulness—a report by thredUP reveals that 118 million consumers tried reselling for the first time in 2021, compared to the 36.2 million first-time sellers in 2020. According to Bain, the social commerce industry in India is expected to be worth $20 billion by 2030, while McKinsey has projected India’s clothing market to be worth $59.3 billion by 2022, the sixth largest globally. So the potential for resellers is huge.