Pre-loved — more than just a buzzword

Anamika Khanna and Sonam Kapoor

When the pandemic hit the world, its ripple effect changed the approach with which we lead our lives. Mindfulness of socio-economic factors also led to sartorial enlightenment making people learn ways to optimise their wardrobe and pledge to make conscious purchases. With consumers encouraged to adapt to sustainable fashion, pre-loved fashion has become more than just a buzzword. Revivify traces the rise in its popularity:

Featuring custom-made embroidery and tailoring rendered over hours together, couture creations hold archival value. But any painstakingly crafted ensemble not seeing the light of the day more than a couple of times raises a point of concern, both eco-conscious and environmental. Increasing designer wear’s shelf life with refurbishing, styling tweaks, or paving a rotational direction for the owner to pass it on to the next person, however, can serve as an antidote. While sustainable fashion can be decoded in the cycle—buy, love, wear and repeat, pre-loved fashion boosts the concept by relaying the same to the next person. It essentially thrives on the interest and curiosity of mindful customers who are ready to invest in looks with longer style mileage.

Pre-loved or vintage clothing is deemed to be a prized possession for decades. There is a sense of exclusivity in owning creations that have been discontinued in production by the designers. A vintage piece could also elicit the memory of how a style statement came into the radar. Case in point: The concept saree is reprised every season on the runway. But the signature saree gowns from the earliest collection of Anamika Khanna can still garner the attention they did on various red carpets.

Anamika Khanna Lakme Fashion Week Finale 2018

Instances of celebrities re-wearing pieces from their wardrobes and owning vintage pieces make it socially acceptable to wear pre-owned clothing. Sarah Jessica Parker’s character Carrie Bradshaw in the TV series Sex and the City reinstates the timeless value of signature designer pieces in various sequences. Decades ago, it was her asking her boyfriend to swear on a vintage Chanel dress. And last year in the reboot of the show, Carrie was shown reaching out to the frothy tulle gown by Atelier Versace again.

Sarah Jessica Parker wearing Versace in And Just Like That

 

Sonali Bendre in Rohit Bal

Closer home, recently, Sonali Bendre made a statement reprising her Rohit Bal jacket for a fresh new look. And Kareena Kapoor Khan refurbished her mother-in-law Sharmila Tagore’s bridal ensemble that was bequeathed to her by designer Ritu Kumar. Evidently, the magic of pre-loved fashion prevails to ring true in fashion.

Kareena Kapoor Khan and Saif Ali Khan Wedding Portrait

Revivify is set to join this revolution as the anthesis of pre-owned luxury fashion in India. The platform will host a lineup of meticulously handpicked designer pieces that promise the warm feeling of rediscovering something valuable. Offering a platform for both buyers and sellers to trade pre-owned luxury clothing, Revivify aims to anchor sustainability and ethical fashion promising a sense of enthusiasm for owning timeless pieces of clothing or accessory from the past.