When it comes to merging Insta-ready aesthetics with vintage kudos, Selena Williams from @selenasshop_ is well ahead of the game. She might not boast the same five-figure following as Joiner, but Selena has gathered a dedicated fan base over the last couple of years thanks to her pitch-perfect vintage ensembles, which she styles and models herself. From flowing Laura Ashley gowns to brightly coloured ’70s trousers, she’s sure to convert even the most vintage-ambivalent among us.
“I started out by selling some of my old clothes for extra money, and once every item had sold, I was hooked, and everything else happened very organically,” she explains. “The past few months during lockdown have been my busiest, as I think many people have had more time to discover independent shops. There’s so much variety when shopping vintage online—a traditional market set-up can sometimes be a potluck, and you may not always find what you’re looking for.”
The preloved revolution is underway, and if the facts and figures are anything to go by, it’s the next generation leading the charge. “Gen Z and millennials are adopting second-hand apparel two and a half times faster than other age groups”, says Rachel Swidenbank from resale platform Depop. “As a result, the next generation is challenging the status quo, making use of Depop as a platform and community to support a new consumer movement that is not just sustainable but built upon their own preferences and interests. We’ve seen record-breaking performance across all of our key markets, and globally, traffic on the app is up +200% since April. In the UK specifically, we’ve seen consecutive weeks of record-breaking growth in the business with triple-digit growth in our business.”
