In the past, investment dressing broadly referred to pieces that would live in one’s wardrobe for years, even decades, due to their classic and versatile nature. Today, investment dressing refers to how well your purchase will retain and regain its initial cost when resold.

Vestiaire Collective, one of the most prominent pre-loved fashion sites, aims to guide its customers on both the selling and buying end. The Paris-based company hosted a panel discussion at the recently opened LuisaViaRoma store in Noho, New York, as the Italian retailer offers a curated selection of pre-loved items on Vestiaire Collective and in its stores.

Entitled “The Future of Luxury Resale: Trends, Investment Pieces & Brand Power”, the chat was moderated by Rahul Malik, chief growth officer of Business of Fashion, and featured Samina Virk, North America CEO of Vestiaire Collective; Barbara Torasso, US deputy COO of LuisaViaRoma aka LVR; and celebrity stylist Kate Young. FashionNetwork.com attended to learn just what brands are killing it in luxury resale.

 
Virk kicked things off by explaining Vestiaire’s Value Ranking (VVR) system, which scores brands and names them best categorically. The report highlights that it’s not just the usual suspects like Chanel, Hermès, and Louis Vuitton. For example, on the top ten designer brands, Moncler, The Row, and Brunello Cucinelli came in first, second, and third place, respectively, while Golden Goose, Coach, and Etro hold those positions for best premium brands. Other categories include insider cool brands, forever pieces, exceptional finds, unicorns, vintage and trending styles.

“We looked at price accessibility, desirability—which we’re able to do because we can look at how many people have liked brands, products, page views, and more that assess engagement—and long-term worth and investment for resell,” Virk said of the new report findings.

She added that the cyclical nature of fashion and trends such as Y2K and quiet luxury also come into play. The report could be to clothes what the Kelley Blue Book is to cars or Apple‘s valuation of trade-ins for an iPhone. Vestiaire Collective plans to release reports seasonally, with the next one slated for fall 2025.

“We started working together three years ago with an exclusively online partnership where LVR clients can offer items for resale and receive a store credit equal to the valuation of the garment plus a 15 percent discount. Sustainability is important to LVR, and we want to support circularity,” Torasso said, adding, “When LuisaViaRoma opened the store in New York, we decided to have a section dedicated to certified vintage through Vestiaire Collective. Our buyers work with their servicing team, and every three, two, or three months, they choose different items in line with the trends of the moment.”

As an example, Phoebe Philo-era Celine tote bags were on display. Torasso stressed that having her vintage styles and newer designs on offer aids in the customer’s journey with storytelling.

“We drive them through fashion history and know that every trend is coming back. So, it’s about finding iconic pieces and a platform like Vestiaire Collective with such beautiful pieces that allows us to pick the best and offer our customers,” Torasso continued.

Vestiaire Collective works with several bands and retailers besides LVR to power their resale, including Gucci, Chloé, Burberry, Alexander McQueen, Mulberry, Courrèges, LN-CC, Giglio, and Mytheresa.

Stylist Kate Young, who formerly worked at Vogue, feels scarcity drives some folks to seek resale buys and that people who incorporate pre-loved items have the best style.

“It’s hard to get the really coveted things if you don’t act quickly. So, you think, ‘I wanted that bag, but it’s gone, so what else would work? There’s a sentiment among traditional fashion editors of like, ‘well, I have the OG one.'”

She notes that clients are interested in vintage and sustainability. “It’s a misperception that they buy all their clothes; they wear a lot of borrowed samples. It feels more eco-friendly and now more than ever my clients are interested in it. Scarlett Johansson wore vintage to the Oscars. We got these 90s gowns in, and I was amazed at the quality. You don’t see that these days,” Young continued of one virtue of circularity.

“Vintage is one of our strongest differentiators at Vestiaire. We are an app and a community of buyers and sellers providing global access to amazing vintage, current, and past seasons. Vintage has seen a big increase recently and sells 30% faster than other seasons. Our vintage sales have increased by over 80% in the last few years. And every quarter, we’re seeing an increase in search, which shows that customers are demanding it more,” Virke added, noting that beyond affordability, clients are embracing an investment mindset for reselling resale merchandise.

Good investment pieces can be predicted by the demand for certain designers, which spikes when they change fashion houses. Torasso hinted that queries for Demna’s work for Vetements and Balenciaga are increasing, with Virk confirming that searches go up each time a new designer appointment is made.

Stocking and scaling pre-loved merchandise have been some of Vestiaire Collective’s most significant challenges, as well as combatting trust issues due to other platforms selling unauthenticated merchandise. Online closet access and AI tools are key to navigating the supply demands and the customer journey, according to Virk.

As the panel wrapped, the discussion inevitably led to the topic du jour: tariffs. One big question is how or if resale goods are subject to the same rules. Torasso laid an interesting spin on how the new rules may affect their customers.

“A portion of shoppers aren’t affected by price increases, so they will continue to shop. The portion that will be affected is the middle luxury shoppers. We know that 80% of shoppers shop on sale, not full price. This can only worsen. The curation is going to be much more important, so less inventory. We don’t need gigantic inventories that get unsold and then sold with a sale, creating waste in the world. The tariffs are going to drive efficiency for sure.”