India’s online thrift stores and their love for luxury brands

Would you want a pair of Jimmy Choos for the identical worth as a Zara purse? Or add a ₹80,000 price Giuseppe Zanotti Peep Toes to your wardrobe for ₹17,000? Or put on Tiffany & Co sun shades that normally price ₹25,000 for ₹8,000? And no, you don’t must scrounge round evening markets, or scour the net for first copies. Instead, now experiment with designerwear with a transparent concience, by way of Instagram thrift stores.

Globally, the resale market has been rising exponentially. A report by thredUp, one in all world’s largest vogue resale platforms, revealed in 2020, valued the resale market at $28 billion (round ₹2 trillion) in 2019. This is predicted to develop to $64 billion by 2024. Though there aren’t any official figures for India, a search for ‘#thriftindia’ on Instagram throws up over 6.25 lakh posts and over 60 handles that cope with thrifting.

In this fleet of thrift stores which have blossomed within the nation over the previous two years, there’s a current surge in people who specialize in genuine merchandise from high-end brands. These stores supply their merchandise both instantly from sellers or probability upon them at bodily thrift stores. After sourcing, authenticating, cleansing and photographing, these are made accessible to a era of online customers who’re experimenting with pre-owned garments and equipment.

Finding genuine resellers

In 2019, when Chennai-based graphic designer Sruti Ashok arrange a pop-up retailer promoting second-hand garments within the yard of a restaurant, she thought it was a one-time factor. But the overwhelming response she obtained and the cash raised for an NGO by means of the gross sales, made her need to flip it right into a yearly-affair. “However, in 2020, it was not possible to step out and set it up, so I did what everyone was doing with their business; I took it online. What started as a one-off thing has transitioned into a business, merely because of the response that I have been getting,” laughs Sruti.

Started in April 2020, her retailer, The Relove Closet, has gained over 5,000 followers. Though the shop sells quite a lot of brands, it’s well-known for promoting high-end luxury brands at costs which are in all probability lower than half their unique fee. Versace, Swarovski, Chanel, Roberto Cavalli, Tiffany, Chloe, YSL, Giuseppe Zanotti, Jimmy Choo, Stella McCartney, title it and she has it.

“It started when a lady approached me to sell a few of her luxury products on my page and forward the proceedings to a charity that she supported. When we put out her bags and shoes, they sold out in two days. We weren’t expecting such a response for the high-end brands, since they are more expensive than regular ones which we sell for ₹700 to ₹1,500. The luxury brands are priced between ₹3,000 and ₹50,000. Due to the increasing online base, I have been approached by several sellers from across India who either want to make money by selling their products or give to charity,” says Sruti whose buyer base is basically girls in their mid-20s and 30s.

The worth of the merchandise — authorised by the resellers — will depend on how typically they’ve been used, the wear and tear and tear they’ve endured, and seen defects, if any. “It is also a matter of style. If the product is a limited edition; that will definitely reflect in the price. We also check if the original product is on sale and if so, we tend to set a much lower price on our product,” she says.

While Sruti is a brand new member on this quickly rising market, Kohima-based Jungshi Imti has been doing this for over two years now. He is the person behind the Instagram account @Chichi_n_Co which sells luxury luggage, sneakers, T-shirts, and attire.

“Thrifting culture is quite popular in the Northeast. Physical thrift stores have been around since I was a child. So we know the process well and are aware which items to pick and which to ignore,” says Jungshi, a 21-year-old faculty pupil. Every night, he visits these stores to supply luxury merchandise.

Jungshi’s retailer boasts an enormous assortment from Louis Vuitton, Marc Jacobs, MCM Worldwide, Kenzo, Givenchy, Guess and Balenciaga.

Jungshi Imti, founding father of Chichi_n_Co  

But how does one belief these to be genuine? “There is an elaborate process for that,” says Jungshi, “The easiest way to check if a product is real is to look for its authentication certificate. If that is not found, one has to look for a code that is stamped in the insides of the bags or shoes which when run on the brand’s website gives the date of manufacture, the country where it was manufactured. Some brands like Louis Vuttion have a website that helps you cross-check the date code which is one way to determine if a bag is fake,,” he says.

This is when the academic background of Riya Rokade, a pupil of styling and mass communication, comes into use. Riya who runs the web page, Vintage Laundry, sources her gadgets from Mumbai-based second-hand product suppliers.

Needle in a haystack

She picks by means of heaps and heaps of garments. Once in each few days, she comes throughout gadgets from luxury brands. Be it a pair of Ralph Lauren denims or a Versace shirt, the heaps that suppliers supply are a treasure trove. “Once I found a quirky jacket which was hand painted. It was only after I put it up for sale on my page, I realised they were all replicas of Picasso’s paintings,” exclaims Riya.

A jacket impressed from Picasso’s work from Vintage Laundry’s assortment  
| Photo Credit:
Special arrangement

The Mumbai-based stylist launched The Vintage Laundry in Feb 2020 however needed to shut it down for two months as a result of lockdown. “I physically visit my suppliers and then curate the clothes, so it was not possible during the lockdown. Even after the restrictions were eased, I rationed my collection and put up only five clothes every week. Now we drop around 30 pieces every week,” she says. Despite the bumpy begin, Riya says that her enterprise is doing effectively, because of rising consciousness concerning the harms of quick vogue.

“Most of the items that I put up are sold in two or three days. Colourful and quirky clothes work best for my account. The only time I had to struggle to sell clothes was when I put out an office-wear collection. Still working from home, people are in no mood to shop for office wear. Jumpsuits, flowing pants, sweatpants, baggy shirts work really well. The trends will change again once offices open up,” she says.

And Riya is wanting ahead to that problem.