Pixie Geldof has always loved buying second-hand – but it was a few years ago when she and friends Francesca Burns and Claudia Sinclair decided to turn their hand to selling pre-loved pieces from their own wardrobes. “Fran had an office on Columbia Road, so on Sunday when the flower market was on, we’d put little signs outside,” Geldof tells Vogue over the phone. “Then, when we were away on holiday we were just discussing how much we enjoyed doing it, so we decided to make it a proper thing.”
The trio launched Resale Therapy at the end of last year, in a bid to highlight the thrill of buying second-hand. “The thing we loved most about doing [the sales] was people coming in and saying, ‘Oh my god, I wanted that dress’ and it was much cheaper than it would have been brand new and they looked great [in it],” Geldof continues. “It’s such a joyful event – and we want to make it joyful to buy second-hand.”
Currently, all the clothes featured at Resale Therapy sales are directly from the wardrobes of Geldof, stylist and consultant Burns, and fashion editor and stylist Sinclair, as well as their friends and connections from across the fashion industry – so you can expect to unearth some real gems. “There’s this amazing leopard print coat [that we’re selling]; these forever pieces that I can’t wait for someone to have,” Geldof says. “These are things that hold memories for us – I don’t want them to end up in landfill.”
While sites like The RealReal, Vestiaire Collective and Depop have made it easier than ever for people to buy second-hand, holding IRL events is an important part of the Resale Therapy concept. “There is something different about buying in person,” the model reflects. “[When you shop online] you can’t try things on, you can’t feel [the clothes]; you can’t feel how you feel in them.”
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In fact, the best fashion purchase that Geldof – who now buys the majority of her wardrobe second-hand – has made to date was in a vintage shop in Paris. “It’s a denim jacket that’s got a scene of Rodeo Drive on the back, with diamanté on it. It’s very Dolly Parton, super ’80s and I’m obsessed with it,” she says.
That doesn’t mean she isn’t partial to the world of online resale, too, particularly when it comes to pieces she’s long had her eye on. Currently top of her wish-list? A pair of Miu Miu floral cowboy boots from spring/summer 2012. “I make alerts on all the sites for different things that I’m searching for,” Geldof explains. “I’m always waiting for [the Miu Miu boots] to ping – it’s happened once and I missed them.”
For Geldof, it’s crucial that shopping second-hand is normalised, given the enormous environmental impact of the fashion industry. “When I was growing up, there was a [stigma] about buying second-hand clothes. Vintage was cool but second-hand was a different thing,” she recalls. “I think that’s changing, thank god – I will never for the life of me understand why we need all of these brand new clothes.”
Moving forward, Geldof hopes that Resale Therapy will continue to expand, allowing people to donate and repair their clothes, as well as buy second-hand. “We eventually want it to become a place where people can really get involved in making their clothes last,” she says.
In the meantime, though, it’s all about enjoying the process of buying and selling pre-loved pieces. “Really it’s friends hanging out and doing something together – it’s super fun,” Geldof concludes. “But if we can engage people with this idea that second-hand is actually super cool, then that’s great.”
Resale Therapy is holding a sale at The London Edition on 8 May between 11am and 4pm. Entry is £3.
