5 ways luxury resale is reshaping the fashion landscape

As the global luxury market faces a cool-down in 2025 amidst ongoing geopolitical and economic turbulence, the luxury resale market continues to undergo rapid growth. Driven by a healthy appetite for timeless brands, the 2025 Resale Report from The RealReal, the largest online marketplace for authenticated resale luxury goods, maps the new emerging landscape of luxury fashion. Based on years of proprietary data and authentication expertise, the report dissects how consumers buy and sell today, revealing the cultural currents and economic pressures that are redefining what consumers value and why.

The data found that core categories demonstrated resilience, with fine jewelry and iconic handbags retaining market strength and demand, while industry upheavals, from creative leadership transitions to sociopolitical developments, drove significant shifts in consumer behavior. Cyclical trends gained momentum, with 2010s aesthetics and statement footwear resurging alongside a pronounced return to 1980s-inspired excess. The American fashion narrative found a new definition through established names like The Row and Coach, joined by rising talents, including Diotima, who are reinterpreting domestic design codes. Archive hunting intensified, with vintage searches climbing nearly 30 percent year-over-year, reflecting consumers’ increasingly sophisticated approach to balancing personal expression with strategic investment choices.

“Resale has gone from disruptor to cornerstone in the consumer journey: 58 percent of consumers (in the US) now prefer the secondary market outright,” said Rati Levesque, CEO & President of The RealReal, in a statement. “Today, shoppers are not only defining their style through resale, they’re also considering resale value at the point of purchase. In a year defined by instability, AI blurring real and synthetic, and trends flattened by social media, consumers rejected uniformity and sought out pieces that felt real, unfiltered, and unreplicable. The result is a moment in fashion not shaped by brands or trends, but by individuals expressing their personal style.”

Here we take a closer look at five main takeaways from the 2025 Resale Report.

1. Resale going from disruptor to market driver

The secondhand luxury market has fundamentally shifted from reacting to trends to actively creating and driving them, according to the 2025 Resale Report. Approximately one-third of all clothing purchases in the United States are now secondhand, according to Thrifting Statistics 2025, from Capital One Shopping. Underlining a key change in how secondhand fashion is viewed and consumed, more and more brands are considering resale value when it comes to product design and pricing strategies. 

47 percent of shoppers now consider resale value prior to buying something new, according to the 2025 Resale Report, indicating that more consumers are evaluating purchases and thinking further ahead than the immediate gratification from a purchase or buying the latest trends.  The report also found that vintage searches grew nearly 30 percent year-over-year, with shoppers increasingly viewing pre-owned pieces as both style statements and strategic acquisitions. This focus on long-term value retention also impacts which brands or styles gain traction. For example, the report found that the resale value of classic accessories grew steadily, with the value of iconic pieces like the Rolex Datejusts, Goyard Saint Louis totes, and the Hermès Birkin 30 increasing 17 percent, 18 percent, and 15 percent, respectively.

2. Creative Director changes create immediate consumer interest in archives

Data from the report found that the secondhand market isn’t just building on current demand, but also actively creating it. When Jonathan Anderson announced his departure from Loewe in March, searches for the brand on The RealReal jumped an astonishing 488 percent in a single day, while Maria Grazia Chiuri’s departure from Dior in May prompted a 114 percent increase in searches, demonstrating how creative changes can generate massive interest in a label’s archive and actively shape the resale market. 

Creative director shifts or shake-ups in the industry spur shoppers to seek out authentic pieces from luxury fashion houses before they set a new creative direction, creating opportunities for both resale platforms and brands to capitalize on archival collections. In addition, this pattern also indicates that archive-driven demand cycles are supplementing the traditional fashion calendar of seasonal drops and trend forecasting, creating new market dynamics that brands should strategically harness. 

3. Accessories are becoming investment assets

Luxury accessories are increasingly being viewed as sound financial investments rather than just luxury purchases, according to the report. Pieces such as the Margaux handbag from The Row, which has been referred to as “the next Birkin,” and the Baignoire watch from Cartier, which surged in popularity after Timothée Chalamet was spotted wearing one at the Oscars, are among the main drivers for this shift and have shown significant value appreciation since 2021. Meanwhile, the Fendi Baguette bag’s resurgence gained momentum following several high-profile placements on “And Just Like That” and its prominence in Fendi’s 100th anniversary show, while the Tiffany & Co. Bone Cuff has been steadily increasing in value since its 2020 reissue for the piece’s 50th anniversary.

Established classic accessories demonstrate the stability that volatile financial markets cannot match. Van Cleef & Arpels Alhambra collections, Goyard Saint Louis totes, Rolex Datejusts, Louis Vuitton Speedys, and Hermès Birkins have all shown “consistent resale-value growth throughout the years, a steadiness the stock market can’t always promise,” according to the report. The report notes that consumers are now searching for pieces with high ROI potential, whether from heritage brands or pieces made from precious metals with intrinsic value, while also considering practical factors like everyday wearability that lower cost-per-wear calculations.

4. Economic uncertainty drives precious metals demand

Fine jewelry, particularly pieces in gold and silver, saw dramatic growth in 2025. Average selling prices for fine jewelry jumped 17 percent year-over-year, with 18K gold pieces up 53 percent and sterling silver being “the highest they’ve ever been,” according to the report. Yellow gold now retains 47 percent of its original retail value on the secondary market (up from 39 percent in 2024), indicating that consumers are on the lookout for items with inherent worth during uncertain or volatile economic times, suggesting opportunities for jewelry brands and retailers.

5. Maximalism returns as AI and uniformity drive demand for individual expression.

Striking a sharp contrast to recent minimalist trends, 2025 saw a surge in interest in maximalist fashion as consumers sought to assert individuality in an increasingly AI-dominated world. According to the report, searches for sequins on TheRealReal grew 26 percent, with searches for animal prints jumping 41 percent, and Schiaparelli dresses reporting an impressive 729 percent increase.

Exaggerated waists and shoulder pads were also sought after, with searches for vintage Mugler skirt suits, vintage Chanel skirt suits, and vintage Dior separates up 87 percent, 281 percent, and 276 percent, respectively. Vintage fur has also re-entered the picture, with sales up 87 percent year-on-year, and average selling prices up 13 percent, as consumers seek out their “own brand of maximalism.” Also referred to as an “anti-AI” movement and a “natural reaction to a new administration,” this move toward personal expression is one way brands could rethink how their products help consumers stand out rather than blend in.