Does resale extend the use phase of garments? Exploring longevity on the fashion resale market

Abstract

Despite a growing engagement in design strategies for longevity and circular business models (CBMs) such as resale, volumes of underutilized garments keep increasing at an accelerated pace. Within research, there is a lack of empirical validation of what actually takes place as garments enter the secondary market, as well as how the product journey of garments in situated contexts, such as local resale environments, is shaped. Therefore, this article presents an empirical follow-the-garment exploration comprised by (n)ethnographic data from two pilot studies and an ongoing Ph.D. project. With a point of departure in selected resale environments and focusing on the two Danish fashion brands GANNI and Baum und Pferdgarten (BuF), the article inquires selected examples of resale mechanisms that partake in the ongoing configuration of garment trajectories and emerge as vital co-creative powers in bringing longevity into being – or failing to do so. Combining empirical data with new materialist approaches that situate agency as a hybrid and distributed concept, the article delineates garment lifespans as inherently entangled in and dependent upon multiple agential matters. Arguing that product journeys cannot be predetermined, the article proposes a critique of design- and garment-centric longevity strategies that exaggerate the abilities of designers to control garment lifespans beyond the design stage. While having a narrow time–space horizon and a limited focus on two specific case brands, the article acts as a reflective comment that could have broader implications for perceptions of CBMs and design strategies for longevity in a fashion and textiles context.