Resale is booming with two vintage fashion fairs coming to London in March
Two vintage fashion fairs are coming to London in March, drawn by the capital's buzz and growing consumer demand for unique fashion pieces. We take a closer look at what is behind this.
A Current Affair Debuts in London
Over the weekend of the 6-8 March the US-based vintage fashion fair 'A Current Affair' is expecting over 1,000 visitors to go on the hunt for vintage gems. What began in 2010 as a gathering of 19 like-minded vintage sellers has since grown into a leading retail event in the vintage space, and now hosts six shows annually across Los Angeles and Brooklyn, as well as special locations – as London.
A Current Affair will be hosted in the vintage clothing archive 18.01LONDON, and feature a number of internationally recognised vintage dealers including local Mae Vintage London, alongside Evelina Vintage, Arcade Vintage, Amarcord Vintage, James Veloria, Miriti Vintage, Siren Vintage and The Find.
Its founder, Richard Wainwright, chose London as an international destination following several successful events in Tokyo, which has its own reputation for iconic vintage fashion. "I've been hearing for quite some time how well London would respond to our special take on vintage and it felt like an easy fit. The team from 18.01LONDON are longtime friends and supporters of the show and offered to host us in their studio, so the stars aligned," he explains.
In his experience the UK consumer tends to lean towards antique vintage, adding: "I've also noticed a more romantic take on vintage– more delicate and precious. Of course there is the Y2K contingent that we have in the US as well, but I'm eager to see if customers in London respond to our brand of vintage, which we like to think is predictive of what is happening in fashion now."
The event is targeted not only at the vintage fashion enthusiast, but also serious buyers, including industry tastemakers and designers, who are able to attend a ticketed preview of the event – and be the first to shop the market.
Growing demand for second hand fashion
The event couldn't have come at a more fortuitous time. 71% of UK consumers were wearing secondhand clothing in 2025, 6% more than in 2020, according to research by the charity Traid, in partnership with YouGov. Especially for younger consumers the demand is clear, with 80% wearing secondhand clothing.
In Europe, the resale marketshare is currently around 8% and projected to reach 10% by 2030. It is expected to grow two to three times faster than the firsthand market through 2027, according to the Resale’s Next Chapter report by BCG and Vestiaire Collective.
Interestingly, as the resale market is heating up with potential investment by BlackRock into secondhand marketplace Vinted, and eBay, announcing a £890 million deal to acquire second-hand clothing app Depop from rival Etsy, this is also having a positive effect on retail stores of secondhand clothing.
Depop has been acquired by eBay
In the UK, platforms like eBay, Vinted and Depop have been helping charity retailers to grow their business, as they encourage more interest in secondhand shopping – especially by younger consumers, Allison Swaine-Hughes, the chief commercial officer at British Heart Foundation told the Guardian in a recent interview.
The charity shop remains as much of an important destination for secondhand shoppers, as online, research by Traid shows. 54% of those who shop second-hand, shop in charity shops, only 1% less than the 55% who shop via online resale platforms.
Consumers are clearly still interested in shopping for secondhand clothing in-preson as much as they like to online. Online retail platforms are starting to play into this as well.
Online marketplace Vinted hosted its first-ever second-hand luxury fashion pop-up in South Kensington, called ‘House of Vinted’ last year. The invitation-only event saw Vinted members exploring themed rooms with curated wardrobes from international luxury style creators, with clothes sourced from Vinted, Vinted Archive or creators own wardrobes.
Competitor eBay has also worked to bring its online stock into the real world, hosting another vintage fashion fair with British Vogue this month.
The Vogue Vintage Sale returns to London
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British Vogue is hosting The Vogue Vintage Sale, which is presented by eBay on the 21 March. The event, which is hosted next door to the iconic Vogue House, will feature rails of curated vintage items selected from eBay by Vogue's editors and close friends, as well as eBay’s pre-loved style director Amy Bannerman.
As an extra cool factor it will be co-hosted by "two of the city’s best-known vintage fans: Alexa Chung and Lila Moss". It also features a virtual auction with a selection of items going on sale via eBay Live, giving people across the UK the opportunity to shop the vintage edit.
The first iteration of the event, which took place last year, raised £65,000 for charity, and this year all proceeds will be donated to Give Your Best, a social enterprise that runs an online platform where communities experiencing poverty can shop donated clothing for free.
While access to rare finds is one motivating factor touted by Vogue, the other lure for customers is price, with the event described as offering customers "the chance to shop an expansive selection of rare fashion gems sourced from eBay at even rarer prices."
Resale shopping is becoming experiential again.
In a highly digital world, perhaps these trade fairs are also tapping into a resurgent desire for consumers to have real-life interaction with vintage clothing. Online marketplaces, while driving demand and making shopping, and selling, very convenient, will always struggle to compare with the feeling of community and discovery that comes from browsing a clothing rack to find a true vintage treasure. As Wainwright from A Current Affair highlights, consumers are feeling nostalgic right now, and what is more nostalgic than getting to feel the quality and texture of garments from another decade?
I believe that vintage fairs, such as A Current Affair and the Vogue Vintage Sale, indicate a desire to shop more intentionally and reconnect with our own wardrobes.
For Wainwright, this is hopefully not the last time A Current Affair is coming to London. "We'd love to come back in the fall assuming there is demand for us to return," he says.
