I have never seen so many Birkins and Kellys in my life as I did on a recent trip to Tokyo.

The first three resale shops I visited were all heartily stocked with both styles, from teeny to full size and in every hue imaginable. The bags were real, not fake, and these retailers have built their reputations on that guarantee. One of the biggest shops I visited, Gallery Rare, has been in business for more than 40 years.

Wait-lists still exist for the handcrafted bags at official Hermès shops all over the world, and you’ll rarely see one on display. So how is it that so many are winding up on the shelves in second-hand stores in Tokyo? And why?

The why is simple: demand, especially in China— though the coronavirus is likely to have slowed any shopping activity for now. The how is more mysterious, but I think I may have found a clue.

As I mention in “Treasure Hunting: Tokyo” (page 92), at a shop called Amore, I found a Dior newspaper saddlebag from the John Galliano era priced at $11,885. When I researched the bag online, I found one that had sold on TheRealReal for $2,877. The bags appeared to be identical—right down to the positioning of the newsprint text. If a dealer had bought the bag on TheRealReal and sold it to Amore at one of the Asian auction houses that specialize in selling luxury goods to second-hand dealers, then this very well could be the exact same bag. And the math on the markup is almost right if the “middleman” sold it at auction for around $5,700 and Amore doubled the price again.

One thing is certain: The fashion resale market has never been hotter. According to the ThredUp 2019 Resale Report, second-hand selling is poised to overtake fast fashion within 10 years.

Change is something our two cover stars embrace. Maye Musk started her career in the ’60s, when runway models “left through the back door,” she tells our fashion news director, Odessa Paloma Parker, in “Take Two” (page 80). We paired Musk with trans model Krow Kian to shoot the season’s trenches, pastels and new interpretations of the suit.

And while there is a nearly 50-year age gap between them, we love how the designs look on both of them.

When our beauty director, Natasha Bruno, first pitched a story on female barbers, my initial reaction was “That’s a thing?” Oh, yes, and what a thing it is. Read about the women who are busting stereotypes in “Head Lights” (page 62).

And I must mention our new feature Jewellery 101 (page 24). In each issue going forward, we’ll take a close look at one material or technique, and we’re also compiling news and information for a new jewellery section on fashionmagazine.com. For April, Paris-based writer Clara Young does a deep dive into aquamarines. One of the many things I learned: The gorgeous blue stones are heatand light-sensitive, which could deplete them of colour. So Meghan Markle best not wear her late mother-in-law’s ring to the beach!

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