Second-hand but fashion still comes first
● A declining retail sector, restrained consumer spend and a desire to give fashion new life are fuelling the rise of SA’s clothing resale market.
From ultra-high-end statement clothing to everyday wear, consignment stores have provided a solution for those aspiring to a life of lavishness without the need to break the bank.
Encore Clothing, an online secondhand fashion boutique, was born of founder Lara Rocchi’s need to sell her clothes after taking a career detour from being a corporate attorney.
However, one of the challenges for the fashion resale market is the stigma of wearing clothes that once adorned the body of a stranger.
“The concept of second-hand has got a very dingy connotation up until recently,” Rocchi said.
“Encore wants to change that perspective. When somebody can rely on a guarantee of quality, and that the clothing is genuine and is really as close to new as possible, then the stigma of second-hand is taken away. In that way we also contribute to the whole concept of sustainability and extending the life cycle of clothing,” said Rocchi.
This is echoed by Toni Tamaris, founder of the ultra-high-end consignment store The Changing Room based in Cape Town.
“I’ve always been mindful of the environment from a very young age, when it was very unfashionable to do so. I’m a compulsive recycler. I had, from a young age, a love of beautiful things that last forever,” Tamaris said on the short life of fast fashion.
The Changing Room sells secondhand luxury merchandise such as Louis Vuitton handbags, as well as jewellery, shoes and scarves.
“Accessibility to these items is becoming less and less in SA,” Tamaris said.
Globally, the resale value of luxury items is declining due to the suppressed economic environment, which Tamaris said also prompted her to drop prices.
“They [prices] used to be probably 40% higher maybe a year and a half ago. The value of second-hand items has, worldwide, been dropping. I price my items at global market-related prices,” Tamaris said.
But besides recycling luxury items, other businesses are renting out clothes.
For Robynne Klee, owner of Cape Town-based clothing-rental studio Best Friend’s Closet, renting clothing goes beyond being economic. It is also about being fashion-forward in the age of social media when consumers want to appear unique each time they go out, she said.
“I have women coming in to rent for everything from dinner dates to horseracing events, to matric dances,” said Klee.
Best Friend’s Closet has an array of clients ranging from those who rent as their contribution to saving the planet, to those who cannot afford the prices of their favourite fashion, to those with deep pockets looking for unique styles.
Second-hand clothes sold by Encore Clothing undergo a series of quality checks. Rocchi said the pricing formula for the clothing at Encore takes into account the brand, style, seasonality and quality.
“I target a very specific market, which is upmarket. It’s high street, it’s designer and it’s luxury.
“I don’t stock certain lower-end value, from value retailers … I price it accordingly to reflect that value,” Rocchi said.
According to a report tracking the luxury market in Africa through luxury second-hand stores, some of the top brands on the continent are Louis Vuitton, Chanel, Hermès and Christian Louboutin, with these brands carrying a resale value of 60% of the purchase price of a new item,
Luke Calitz, CEO and founder of Luxity, said: “We also evaluate [a product] based on the brand and item itself.
“While some brands have the ability to fetch 75% of their original retail prices, others can struggle to fetch even 50%, due to demand for certain brands.
“Should a piece be a limited-edition piece with a limited production line, it could sell at second-hand for over its original retail price,” he said.
Luxity has two stores selling preowned luxury items — in Melrose Arch in Johannesburg and in The Cape Quarter in Cape Town.
There are also collectors who sit at the highest end of the market who only shop for new items, Calitz said.
But “they buy limited editions and vintage pieces”.