Creative director appointments reshaped brand perception overnight. When Demna left Balenciaga for Gucci (later succeeded by Pierpaolo Piccioli), sales for the Balenciaga Le City rose 525% YoY. Jonathan Anderson’s move from Loewe to Dior sparked a 13.3% increase in Loewe Puzzle Bag searches. At Celine, Michael Rider’s debut show ignited a frenzy around the Luggage and the Phantom bags, with searches for “Celine Phantom” spiking 576.4% after his appointment.
In 2025, resale turned personal. It was a rebellion, a rejection of fashion as consumption and a return to fashion as expression.
As consumers navigated economic uncertainty and rejected homogenized trends, they curated pre-owned pieces that told stories, asserted individuality, and challenged traditional notions of luxury consumption. They rebelled against throwaway fashion culture by using resale to engage with trends meaningfully, buying pieces with history, resale value, and personal significance.
The shift was evident in what we shopped for, saved, searched, and sold. Cultural moments translated directly into resale demand: The White Lotus inspired a 45% increase in engagement YoY across styles featured in the show, while F1 drove a 49.6% increase in sales across racing-adjacent styles, including a 277.4% spike in Gucci x Adidas and Balenciaga x Adidas collaborations.
Polished aesthetics gave way to raw self-expression, and ultra-luxury resale emerged as a reflection and rejection of the status quo. Shoppers used second-hand style to signal taste, individuality, and resistance to mass trends. Status shifted from trend consumption to identity curation. Resale offered a platform for crafting personal narratives, rather than following seasonal scripts. It was personal expression through purposeful acquisition.
