First up: LUXCLUSIF! We sent our questions – regarding their business, product assortment, the secondhand fashion industry and partnership with TVB – along and the answers are provided by none other than Guilherme Faria, co-founder & COO, and Jaime Abella, product specialist of leather goods.

LUXCLUSIF – who are they?

In short, LUXCLUSIF is a tech and data-driven online store with a culture highly motivated by innovation and experimentation.

To add a few more word to the start of LUXCLUSIF, the business was born in late 2013, when founders – Guilherme Faria and Rui Rapazote – saw a need for luxury offerings for flash sales and auctions as well as high-performing retailers. Because most luxury brands don’t operate with discounts, secondhand items seemed like the way to go and they started their secondhand resale business.

Advantages of secondhand fashion

As a retailer, LUXCLUSIF wishes to give exclusive designer items new life. When explaining why they’ve decided to focus on the secondhand market, one of the reasons was that “something that was going to get stuck in a closet is now someone else's new love!” – a sentiment we can totally get behind.

Besides this, LUXCLUSIF also wants to contribute to a circular economy. This happens when a seller trades in a pre-loved item for something ‘new’ – in this case a different pre-owned item. LUXCLUSIF points out that “this financial decision is simplified by the fact that the old good has an actual cash value”, meaning that the item is in good condition and would be able to be sold for cash.

Lastly, as a business LUXCLUSIF wants to create awareness of sustainability for brands, retailers and consumer as “this will have a tangible impact on the world we live in” and we couldn’t agree more. This is why we do what we do.

What do they specialize in?

When it comes to product assortment, LUXCLUSIF wouldn’t dream of playing favorites. As any other reseller, they of course focus on the classic brands who specialize in leather goods, like Chanel, Hermès and Louis Vuitton. Because they wish to accommodate all shoppers, no matter if they’re fashion experts or “fashion newbies”, LUXCLUSIF also don’t shy away from contemporary and more trend-driven brands like The Row, Jacquemus and Bottega Veneta. This combination of brands means that LUXCLUSIF has a product assortment filled with vintage classics as well as trendy pieces alongside limited edition items.

But how does LUXCLUSIF choose which brands and items to source? In line with their product catalogue, LUXCLUSIF tries their best to acquire items that are good investments – like nicely made leather pieces – which you know will perform well on the secondhand market. Besides this, LUXCLUSIF is also zoned in on what brands and items are trending and in style, so they can acquire the right pieces in order to provide shoppers with secondhand counterparts to the trends of the moment.

What sets them apart from other resellers?

The market for secondhand fashion has grown and evolved tremendously within the last years and is now led by a millennial and Gen Z consumer who’s highly motivated by sustainability.

For LUXCLUSIF this means that they’ve also had to evolve to find their space in the market. LUXCLUSIF started out as traders and providers but today, they operate the full spectrum of circularity in the pre-owned fashion industry, meaning they buy, sell and enable brands and retailers with technology solutions for their own resale programs. This speaks to the business' love of sustainability and their faith in the rise of the secondhand fashion industry.

Working with a partner like TVB

LUXCLUSIF has worked with TVB as a part of our style lounge meaning they very kindly lent us part of their stock during Copenhagen Fashion Week. With the help of partners like LUXCLUSIF, we were able to dress influential people from the fashion industry in the best secondhand pieces and raise awareness of the secondhand fashion industry and its perks.

LUXCLUSIF wanted to partake in Copenhagen Fashion Week and our style lounge as they saw it as a possibility to spread the word about their business. “Being a B2B partner sometimes comes with less visibility to the end costumer” and “partnering with The Vintage Bar allowed us to be a little closer to the end costumer”, said LUXCLUSIF about our collaboration, and this is exactly what we love to hear. We want to connect buyers and sellers from all over the world in order to make sustainable shopping available worldwide. We’re so happy to hear that LUXCLUSIF shares our vision and believes in our goal.

When asked about, why they see TVB as a good match, LUXCLUSIF replied that “we both share a love for fashion and most importantly the love for pre-owned luxury”. LUXCLUSIF believe they can find many suitable platforms for their items to be resold, but “a partner so dedicated to pre-owned luxury as The Vintage Bar is just the best match” as sustainability is at the very core of LUXCLUSIF’s operations.

LUXCLUSIF also points out that their product assortment is different but really well aligned with TVB. Bags is one of the largest categories and the most popular brands for both LUXCLUSIF and TVB are Louis Vuitton, Prada, Gucci, Balenciaga and Fendi.