STELLA McCARTNEYTHRIFTINGSTELLA McCARTNEYStella McCartney and The RealReal have joinedforces in the hopes of implementing industry-widechange on disposable consumption patterns witha new initiative called “The Future of Fashion isCircular”, shedding light on a “Make Well, BuyWell, Resell” model.The partnership itself is an unprecedented call-to-action in bringing awarenessto the circular economy and is designed to get people to start thinking differentlyabout fashion. Essentially, this marks the first time a luxury brand isactively pushing for items to be consigned. By purchasing a quality, sustainableproduct that retains value and then reselling it to a buyer or consignment storelike The RealReal once one is done with it, its lifespan increases significantly,avoids landfills and is placed in the hands of another consumer.“At Stella McCartney, we have been working for years to ensure that our supplychains represent some of the most traceable and sustainable in fashion while alsocontinuing to ensure that our products, which are made to last, have long livesand never end up as waste,” the designer said in a statement. “This campaignis about raising the awareness on a circular approach to fashion. We alongsideThe RealReal are making the commitment now and we can only hope thatothers will follow.”Indeed, the first-of-its-kind alliance evenincludes an incentive for shoppers: Theywill receive $100 to shop at Stella McCartneystores if they consign any Stella Mc-Cartney item to The RealReal.Wainwright tells me the idea first cameabout during talks with Kering, theFrench conglomerate who recently soldtheir 50% stake in Stella McCartney backto McCartney herself. “I started talking toKering about this a long time ago becausethey have sustainability in their platformand they’re really trying to understand therole of resale and how that fits into theirfashion cycle,” says Wainright. When shethen spoke with Stella, the two immediatelyshared an understanding and knewthey had to work together.“Now look, new is not going to go away. We don’t want it to go away. But Ithink it’s just starting to think ‘Do I need to buy everything new or can I buysome things in the secondary market,’ not just for fashion but for your home,jewelry... You get a really good value when you buy secondary. If you just leavea portion of your purchasing for it you’re going to help the planet immensely,”she adds.The initiative also lays the groundwork for other luxury brands, who have traditionallybeen hesitant towards consignment, to emulate a similar program thatencourages a circular model. “It sounds risky I’m sure because they don’t reallyfully embrace or understand that a strong secondary market really does supportthe primary market,” says Wainwright. “I think it’s so scary because they’re notreselling their own goods so they could feel that this will take away from theirmarket share. But here is what we’ve found in a lot of data at the Kering Groupin particular but also LVMH and their interest is that once people start buyingon our site or consigning, they’re really conscious of what that resell value is andit can inform their purchases in the primary market. We’ve never had anyoneslow down their buying of new. They supplement their buying on our site andthey tend to buy things that they know they can resell,” she concludes.On the partnership, Stella said, “Sustainability is important to us and I’mexcited to be partnering with the RealReal on this new sustainable program.We believe that consignment, and re-commerce can play a significant part inreducing the amount of raw materials that are required each year from ourplanet. This is key in our commitment to becoming part of a more circulareconomy. By ensuing that our products are used for the entirety of their lifecycleit is possible to begin to slow down the amount of natural resources currentlybeing cultivated and extracted from the planet for the sake of fashion”.80
CIRCULARITYCLICKIMAGE!Stella McCartney x The RealReal Campaign Film.81