In terms of positioning and perception, Vestiaire Collective is the most luxurious and fashion-forward of the re-commerce sites. There's something for everyone, from Zara ("super-special exception") to exclusive Supreme drops, along with classics like Chanel, Louis Vuitton, Gucci and Hermès. The app currently has more than a million products online and accepts 35,000 new consignments every week. "This isn't just a luxury website; it's for everyone who loves fashion," explains Moizant, who's wearing a secondhand striped Chanel T-shirt and current-season Celine palazzos, which she will be selling online soon. "We want to show a panorama of fashion that reflects contemporary style of mixing high and low. Who wears head-to-toe Hermès? Some members are from the industry or in media, and many more from other careers or lifestyles - but the common thread among all our users is their passion for fashion."
Moizant and her partners have also identified a changing attitude toward the consumption, value and ownership of fashion items. Aside from being a trading platform, the app serves a new generation who values sharing and usage more than possession, who is addicted to newness, who doesn't own a lot for various reasons, yet who has one eye on value and another on style. Vestiaire Collective ran a survey among its members and discovered that "buyers and sellers have a value mentality more accurate than ever," explains Moizant. "When they buy something (at retail), they have a resale value in mind. Investment dressing used to be cost-per-wear, but now it's 'How much do I recoup if I spend $1,000?'"
She continues, "Vestiaire Collective facilitates a new and inspiring way of consuming fashion. You want new things, but you have to let go of others. We are closing this circle. This is not just a way of recycling, but slowing the pace of consumption, because it is going very fast - way too fast."
Vestiaire Collective remains a closely held private company. It has raised more than €100 million (including $20 million from Condé Nast in 2013); according to Moizant, funding was "never a problem."
Being French was never a problem either - and in fact, has proved to be a great advantage. Although 65 percent of the business is generated outside France, its homeland is still the single biggest buying-and-selling market.
"In this particular industry, a Parisian image gives undisputed credibility and heritage to any luxury brand," elaborates Moizant. "It's a good thing - and we are proud of our French DNA."
The company's next biggest markets are the UK, Germany and the US, with "developed Asia" (Hong Kong, Singapore and Australia) quickly gaining more market share. Moizant also claims that China, Korea and Japan have grown organically for the company without any PR or marketing effort. Welcome to the future, where fashion is now at your fingertips.
