How hand-me-down fashion became haute during the pandemic

The environmental impact of the fashion industry, especially with regard to fast fashion or denims, has been a much-talked-about topic for over a decade. But it's only recently that slow fashion gained pace and recycled apparel found favour with shoppers. The pandemic has given secondhand clothing a new lease of life, with Indian fashion lovers changing their attitude towards - and embracing - pre-worn/loved/used clothing and thrift shopping. According to a report by a clothing website, while fast fashion is expected to continue to grow by 20% in the next 10 years, secondhand fashion is poised to grow by 185%! Brands across the world, too, are jumping on the secondhand bandwagon. Recently, Gucci announced its entry into a resale partnership with The RealReal, while Levi's announced Levi's SecondHand, a denim buyback program to encourage sustainable fashion. Apart from sustainability, another reason why people are gravitating towards secondhand attire is the economic downturn caused by the pandemic, which has encouraged them to shop for more economical options. Here's more:'YOUNG INDIA WANTS TO MAKE MORE RESPONSIBLE SHOPPING CHOICES'“There has always been an unknown demand for secondhand in India —without knowing it is pre-loved,” says Namrata Iyer, designer, illustrator, and founder of The Local Thrift. She adds, “While Instagram shops and garage sales existed pre-2020, the pandemic brought increased on-screen time luxuries to people and the thrift market on Instagram boomed. There is a growing awareness about environmental and social issues within young India and consumers want to make more responsible clothing choices. Shopping secondhand makes the easiest solution. If not, thrift garments have a story of their own, and are unique in style, which is quite attractive to most.” Secondhand clothing isn’t just great for recycling, upcycling, resale, and even turning old pieces into something new resulting in lesser waste and a reduced amount of discarded clothes ending up in landfills. A young customer browses through a collection of revived, second-hand clothes at a pop-up exhibitPic: The Local ThriftNamrata, says that the trend in secondhand fashion also changes with time and season. “The items that are in vogue or demand change from store to store, and change in accordance to the trend within the market. There was a time when corsets and lingerie were most commonly sold, winter brought higher sales in knits, coats, and sweaters and now summer is bringing more coverage on lighter-airier clothing,” informs the young entrepreneur. An art-printed saree by the local thrift HAND-PICKED, TRENDY AND UNIQUE: THE STYLE BENEFITS OF SECONDHAND CLOTHING According to Asenla Jamir, founder, and creative director, Otsü Clothing Co, besides adds that apart from the economic downfall, owing to the pandemic, shutting down of trendy and reasonable fashion shopping sites (Shein, Romwe, etc.), has also contributed to the popularity of secondhand fashion. Asenla Jamir revives second hand vintage pieces with Naga textiles and rescued fabricPic: Otsü Clothing Co. “Secondhand clothing is very reasonable compared to other big brands for which it was appropriate for people to opt for circular fashion due to economic uncertainty,” says Asenla, adding, “My brand exclusively works with only handpicked vintage pieces, which we upcycle with Naga textiles and rescued fabrics. We work basically on shirts, skirts, blazer/jackets, pants, and dresses. textiles come with ‘season-less' policy and have a ‘one-piece item only’ for each design which cuts down mass production, social impacts, and environmental wastage completely and also promotes individuality and uniqueness in style. We also re-use rescued fabrics in our designs which definitely helps us contribute more to the zero-waste cycle.” An outfit from Otsü Clothing Co. Actress Evelyn Sharma, who runs a fashion charity foundation and an upcycled line called Seams for Dreams, stresses that people have less disposable income, limited access to retail stores, and several other restrictions amid the pandemic. “This makes secondhand clothing even trendier as it appears to be driven by affordability, especially now, during the COVID-19 economic crisis. Consumers have not only reduced their consumption of nonessential items like clothing but are buying more quality garments over cheap, disposable attire,” adds Evelyn, adding, “When we talk about second-hand clothing, sustainability is a big factor in the recommence movement. As the world moves towards becoming more environmentally-friendly, the circular nature of secondhand clothing buyers lowers consumption of fast fashion and the inevitable waste that accompanies this form of consumerism.” Evelyn Sharma Social media has been a catalyst in pushing the cause for secondhand clothing. In the absence of bigger brands going the ‘pre-loved' fashion route, several Instagram pages have given designers and homegrown labels dealing in secondhand a platform for encouraging shopping consciously, and donate items people no longer need or wear. “It has low entry barriers and allows it to reach a greater audience if done right,” says Namrata. “As a result of the global pandemic, the internet, and social media have been our only way to stay social and connected to the rest of the world. We start and end our day with Instagram, and because of increased usage and engagement, it built the rise of the Instagram market and business which started booming in this period. Many social media creators promoted thrifting/circular/secondhand fashion and numerous Instagram business pages launched due to people accepting secondhand fashion widely,” says Asenla.