Genève
The #secondhand #fashion market is booming…. and confusing!
EXPERTISE
So we are here to provide you with our #expertise and #knowledge on secondhand and luxury consignment. We #curate all our items that we sell. What does this mean?
Mr Downtown & Mrs Uptown – Lac Leman, Suisse, 2019
ORIGIN
It means that we #select only FIRST secondhand pieces of quality and in excellent condition to offer you. We do not take “second” secondhand,* to ensure the knowledge of origin of the item (*more than one owner. Exceptions for collector vintage pieces from the 50s-70s).
STYLE
It means that we choose a certain #style of beautiful items to stock our boutique and even reject items that do not fit our aesthetic. Come and see #MrsUptown’s style for women and #MrDowntown’s style for men.
VINTAGE
It means that we provide you with a range of #vintage (1980s to contemporary) so that you can find unique treasures. We do this to counteract the current trend of overconsumption from the need to constantly have something different in our wardrobe. This only encourages large discounted last-season stocks, that are saturating the market. As the editor of Vogue says – clothes are meant to be handed to the next generation! MrsUptown has worn secondhand since she was born, so it is part of her character and ethique.
It means that we have many secondhand items in new or mint condition, but we are not an outlet discount store. That so many items are produced and then wildly discounted, is continuing the downward spiral of waste of resources and promoting a #fastfashion mindset. Also it creates a false mindset of understanding the value of an item. Discount stores are not #ethical nor #sustainable. On the contrary, they encourage over-production and low pricing, which creates exploitation, unfair wages (otherwise the business would collapse, because it cannot operate at a loss) and an unsustainable supply chain – #lowerpricing needs to be #slowfashion too.
GENUINE
It means that we meet the previous owner of the secondhand item, take their ID/address (actually required by law) and #vet the origin of every item, to only provide you with #authentic items BEFORE they are put on sale (collective platforms available in Switzerland such as VC or MPB do not do this). We then double authenticate in-house with our knowledge based on a combined 20 years work in the luxury fashion industry in Geneva and Zurich (with maison de luxe such as Hermès) AND our experience of personally inspecting tens of thousands of luxury second hand articles over 6 years. Very few secondhand sellers on social media or in stores have the knowledge or capacity to do this. Very few, if any, online sellers vet, or have knowledge at all about the item they are selling or the secondhand market. Indeed, there is no process currently available for social media or online platforms to vet the ID of sellers, so thieves and counterfeiters often sell via social-media, collective platforms and cash-converter stores, so be careful!! We use our knowledge of daily researching the secondhand market and awareness of developments in the counterfeit trade to assure you. We guarantee that we know more than your computer or smartphone 😉
We created our business in 2014 based on the principles of sustainability and #ethicalfashion. Our curation process assures that the items that we have contribute to minimising waste, safeguarding quality & value and provide #joy for their new owners.
We also host new ethical fashion brands every six months – more info here!
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We hope this article helped and please contact us for more information or to consign with us here.
