Nowadays, having an exquisite style is no longer an extra quality for celebrities and 'influencers', but an essential requirement for their names to be present in the best dressed lists of fashion magazines. However, we have reached a new level where the most desired wardrobes are also the ones that help their owners increase their income. From Olivia Culpo to Nina Dobrev, 'celebs' have found a place on the Wardrobe platform where they can monetize their 'looks' by renting their clothes and accessories.
The 'outfits' of the famous are not desirable for their aesthetics, but because some of them have been worn in well-known movies or in unforgettable premieres immortalized by the media and by our 'fashionista' memory. “By renting clothes from an aspirational person, users create tangible relationships with them, as if they were borrowing clothes from a friend,” says Adarsh Alphons, founder and director of Wardrobe, whose professionals are in charge, by the way, of cleaning the clothes. garments when they return to headquarters. The benefits for those who rent their 'looks'? Making their followers feel closer to them by establishing a direct relationship with their audience, obtaining economic benefits and, of course, sending the message to the world that they care about sustainability... At the stroke of a checkbook, we know.
So popular is this trend that there are those who have gone further and far from being satisfied with renting their clothes, they sell their most precious designs. While most of us get rid of our clothes and accessories through applications such as Vinted or Wallapop, the 'influencers' resort to more specialized services, such as It Closet. This 'marketplace' platform combines second-hand fashion, 'instagrammers' and sustainability, and has thousands of garments at very affordable prices from a wide portfolio of familiar faces that they select to create a close and real bond with the user.
“The process of capturing 'influencers' is a complex process. We make sure that the person in question fits with our values and that the style fits the brand. We are a young firm, so we want these prescribers to transmit this spirit and to be passionate about the project”, clarifies the It Closet team. “When the garments arrive at our warehouse, we make an exhaustive selection. We take into account that they do not have flaws and that they are attractive garments. We try to sell everything that is of the best possible quality”, he assures. From Alba Carrillo to Daniel Illescas, there are many well-known names that are part of this website.
The content creator Alba Álvarez, who sells her 'looks' there, explains why she has found the ideal place for her on this platform: “I decided to join this initiative, to begin with, because I consider myself addicted to clothes . Another reason is that I am the director of my own clothing brand… You can imagine how I have my wardrobe and how many times I repeat the garments! It's a shame to waste clothes, especially if they are new. Giving clothes a second chance, especially if it is for my followers, seemed like a mandatory option to me”, she tells us.
The phenomenon is so immense that even the 'klan' has joined it through Kardashian Kloset, where from Kim to Kendall Jenner personally select the clothes and accessories that they put on sale. Each garment has its detailed specifications, as the website explains if the designs have been altered to fit perfectly with the silhouette of their owners. Although details like this are the reason why that Mugler dress does not fit you like a glove despite being your size, the magic lies in knowing that it has been specially modeled so that it does look great on one of the sisters. Some models even include the original labels.
Although the queens of the letter K have their own resale website, other celebrities — like Olivia Rodrigo, supermodel Winnie Harlow or even Chiara Ferragni herself — sell their clothes on Depop. If in the past merchandising clothing was essential to show devotion to our pop idols, now it's not enough to have a t-shirt with the face of your favorite singer, but the secret lies in owning the dress she wore in her latest video clip.
This type of (almost) 'fandom' miracles are what allow this type of websites and platforms, which offer fans of 'celebs' the possibility of wearing the lingerie of Dita Von Teese herself or Princess's favorite sneakers Nokia. Although the fact that celebrities resort to specialized reselling websites to launch their 'looks' is not really anything new, the novelty is that now they say it openly. In part they do, of course, because in this way they promote the items they sell. That's why it's not uncommon from time to time to come across Instagram 'stories' in which Kim Kardashian shows off items she's put up for sale at the Kardashian Kloset (which, by the way, is rumored to have soon a physical store).
Other icons of social networks have been encouraged to open the doors of their closets to their followers for charity. That is the case of Pelayo Díaz, who gave ten of his favorite garments to Vestiaire Collective during confinement, allocating the profits from the sales to Hospital La Paz in Madrid. The 'influencer' did the same in the summer of last year, when he put some of his fashionista fetishes up for sale on the occasion of Pride. From Celine bags to Chloé designs, Pelayo has donated some of his style treasures to charity.
Gwyneth Paltrow promotes the same thing every year through the "annual wardrobe sale" on her website, Goop, where celebrities such as Jennifer Aniston and Reese Witherspoon donate their clothes and accessories so that the profits made from their sale go to different humanitarian causes. Of course Paltrow, lifestyle guru, takes advantage of the initiative to remind us of the benefits of Marie Kondo, but what matters to us is what conveys that devotion we feel for the garments of well-known characters.
This practice combines the aura of pop culture with functionality and signals a change in our consumption habits. Gen Z no longer wants to wear a jacket like Kylie Jenner's, they want to have THE Kylie Jenner jacket. These dynamics of buying and renting looks from celebrities and influencers help to bring fans closer to their idols by allowing them to wear the clothes they have worn, which become, in some way, authentic relics charged with energy and mysticism. If before we used to collect magazine clippings in which our favorite stars appeared, in the new era the fashion is to collect the clothes and accessories of our icons.
What the 'influencers' and celebrities have to be careful with is carefully selecting which designs they will put on sale so as not to upset the brands. An example? Kylie Jenner uploaded to the RealReal resale website a Versace bag that the sale had given her for her birthday two weeks earlier. 'Epic fail!'
