VINTAGE is the new black

Dazzling archival fashion and sustainable, circular resale platforms are changing the way we shop for the better. The devil, it would seem, rewears Prada, writes Kathryn Madden

- Kathryn Madden

It's 3am on a Monday when I'm woken by a sharp ping on my phone. “A seller has made you an offer" flashes a notification, as an original Dior Saddle bag appears on my screen. It's the kidney-shaped cult purse of the new millennium, a relic of fashion history designed under John Galliano and slung by the likes of Sienna Miller and Carrie Bradshaw in the early aughts. And today, a vintage reseller - Nicolo in Italy, no less - wants to sell me one for $875 (a modern re-issue of the design would set me back $5500).

In a Covid-induced fog, where television sends me dizzy and books strain my brain, the Vestiaire Collective shopping app has become my happy place. It's a digital market for preloved luxury fashion, and I've spent hours searching and swiping, hunting down wearable treasures and iconic accessories of yesteryear: Phoebe Philo-era Celine, lust-have Alaïa dresses and hot-right-now '90s Fendi.

Recycled style has been on the rise for a few years now, a response to the devastating impact of overconsumption on the planet and a growing antipathy for fast fashion. Research by e-tailer Farfetch shows that purchasing a pre-owned piece of clothing as opposed to a new item can save 1kg of waste, 3040 litres of water and 22kg of carbon dioxide, so - against a backdrop of floods, fires and news that the world's textile waste could fill Sydney Harbour annually it's not surprising that a sustainable shift is afoot.