From niches to mainstream, second-hand fashion enjoys record demand as a sales boom for vintage clothing online. But why are cast-off clothing so appealing to young people?
According to DW, browsing special clothes is one of Leonie’s favorite hobbies. However, the 27-year-old fashion design student has not focused on the fashion company’s new collection. She looks special for second hand instead. And she finds most online.
“It’s like a digital treasure hunt,” explains Leonie’s approach. It is important to enter the appropriate keywords and enter them in a different language. That’s when she’s most likely to come across a rare discovery. That’s a wonderful feeling.
Leonie is not just fascinated by vintage. Vintage shopping meant ramming through messy, messy stores from time to time, but online second-hand goods trading has been active for years.
Elke Goguere, professor of fashion and style at the Academy of Art in Vienna, said that Saind Hand has always been a part of youth fashion. However, in recent media, ready-made apparel is presented in different ways.
Image changes are reflected in the semantic shift from “used” to “pre-loved” or “vintage.”
By definition, vintage means that the item on clothing is at least 20 years old. But this is not the case online. The hashtag “Vintage” also includes much newer items, including second hand items. However, the term vintage exudes a sense of exclusivity, and often also has a price premium.
“Buying vintage is very closely related to self-awareness,” says Valentina Herbort, a fashion journalist and social media consultant.
She runs a Gen Z-focused Instagram channel with over 70,000 followers entitled “Describing the most important things in Fashion & (Pop) Culture with substance and love.”
Harboat views vintage trends primarily as a response to a desire for personality. “Thanks to globalization, Gen Z has a much wider fashion choice than its previous generations. This sparks the desire to find a unique style.”
However, this is not so easy in the digital age where trends emerge in real time. “We all watch the same series and have the same inspiration,” she says of mass media consumption. “That’s why we’re all buying the same 23 items at Zara.
The value of money
In addition to the desire for uniqueness, Herbort also notes Gen Z’s new focus on product quality. For example, new jeans are of lower quality than older models, and wearers can “will immediately convey the difference,” she says of the appeal of used apparel.
“That’s a strong selling point. Buy something better for less.”
Sustainability and fair fashion production play an important role for the younger generation when buying clothes.
The first fashion industry has long been criticized for its decline in working conditions, lack of payments and environmental pollution. The vintage trend is a “conscious response from Z” and a “conscious response” to this exploitation of people and planets, Elke Gaugele said.
Giving clothing a second life is a more sustainable use of resources, but trend researcher Eike Wenzel doubts vintage trends actually make fashion purchases less.
“Vintage is not a way out of the consumer society,” she said.
Columbia’s Sandra Calderon sells special one-off titles via her Instagram profile, “Revancha Vintage.” She says that vintage images have also changed in her home country, and are part of the movement from second-hand clothing to unique works that tell stories.
“There’s a huge supply of very high quality vintages, but prices are sometimes inflation. “Sometimes, vintage pieces can cost more than new ones. This contradicts the idea that vintage should be an affordable option.”
Calderon’s vision of the future matches Leonie’s closet. This is 90% filled with vintage pieces.
“Vintage and second-hand fashion should be more than just a trend, it should be your first choice,” she said.
