Ahead of the Vogue Vintage Sale on 29 March, co-hosted by Jorja Smith and Iris Law and presented by eBay, Vogue is celebrating all things pre-loved. Not all vintage treasures are rare designer pieces loaded with fashion lore: from a perfectly worn leather jacket uncovered in a thrift store to a slogan tee sourced online, pre-loved items can (and should) be a key player in every modern wardrobe.
In the 12 years I’ve been working in fashion journalism, it feels as though there’s not been a single 12-month period where something fundamental in the industry’s foundations hasn’t shifted – whether it’s the digitisation of glossy magazines or the dawn of the influencer, the rapid rise and fall of major e-commerce players or, of course, the ripple effects of a three-year global pandemic. It’s been a real rollercoaster ride, let me tell you. But one area that has experienced one of the most radical transformations – for the better – is the second-hand fashion market.
Of course, there are individuals, such as ex-Vogue editor Bay Garnett, who have long championed vintage in mainstream editorial (who can forget the $5 thrifted banana-print top that Garnett styled on Kate Moss in a 2003 British Vogue editorial shot by Juergen Teller, which went on to inspire Phoebe Philo’s famous print for Chloé?) However, as someone who spent much of the 2010s writing vintage shopping stories, it’s been remarkable to see how it’s gone from a “nice to have” to a genuine profit-making venture with a number of global players (eBay, Vinted and Vestiaire Collective, to name a few). And that’s not to mention the ever-expanding consumer-base – many under the age of 30 – who now consider second-hand to be first choice. In fact, according to ThredUp’s 2025 Resale Report, the global second-hand fashion market is expected to reach $367 billion (£284 billion) by 2029 and is growing almost three times faster than the overall global fashion market.
Well, it may or may not come as a surprise to some that the Vogue team are nothing but obsessive consumers of second-hand fashion. While popular culture might tell you that magazine editors swan around in just-out-of-the-box Manolo Blahniks and new-season Prada jackets, the reality is that the level of nerdiness around archival fashion is off the charts and the art of squirrelling out a preloved bargain is one held in the highest regard – even if it means losing hours of your life in an eBay scroll hole (an ailment for which there is no cure). Each editor has their own unique second-hand shopping strategies – many of which require military-grade planning (you can read all the team’s tips here) – and little black books filled with lesser-known vintage hotspots, the knowledge of which can only be accessed by the closest of confidants.
