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Paris may be the world's fashion capital, but a
third COVID-19 lockdown is once again sending lovers of luxury
who have time to spare and money to spend on to their screens in
search of a the next vintage Chanel dress or Hermes handbag.
Vintage was already enjoying a revival, Vivien said, driven by a
growing discomfort with "fast fashion" among consumers and
increasing environmental awareness. But the pandemic shifted
more of it online.
"Vintage is exploding on the second-hand market," Vivien said.
"People can't walk into boutiques and so shop at online
auctions."
Handbags sell particularly well. "People who bought a Chanel or
a Hermes bag today delight in the knowledge that their
investment doesn't stop growing, and with the pandemic increases
with no end in sight."
Fashion and online vintage clothing sales more than quadrupled
at online auction in France in 2020 compared with pre-pandemic
levels to 6.2 million euros, according to the online auction
house aggregator Interencheres.
Antoine Saulnier, an auctioneer at Gros & Delettrez, said
vintage fashion sales that before the pandemic might have
attracted 100 online buyers were now drawing five or ten times
that number.
"Prices are rising on some items as a result," said Saulnier as
he prepared for the sale of nearly 600 Vuitton artefacts this
week.
One collector who should know is Olivier Chatenet, a flamboyant
60-year-old stylist who spent his young adult life scouring the
French capital's flea-markets and auction houses in the Drouot
neighbourhood with his father.
His private collection is a treasure trove of Ungaro dresses,
Chloe blouses and Sonia Rykiel overcoats. Several years ago he
sold his entire Yves Saint Laurent collection - all 4,000 items.
"I try to be careful and buy at the right price," Chatenet said.
But he admits he is not always successful.
"That moment the auction begins, when you have the item before
you and you're overtaken by a frenzied desire to own it, you end
up buying for more than you meant."
(Reporting by Elizabeth Pineau; Writing by Richard Lough;
Editing by Alex Richardson)
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