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“When we first started working in fashion over 15 years ago, the notion of ‘oh, that’s so last season’ was very real,” says US Vogue alumnus Sofia Bernardin. She’s reflecting on why she and fellow industry veteran Sabrina Marshall founded ReSee, one of the first luxury resale sites, back in 2013. Ten years on, it’s an industry success story, with resellers including the likes of Catherine Deneuve and Cindy Sherman.
“We both had a real passion for vintage and enjoyed the thrill of the hunt,” says Bernardin, “but we also wanted to debunk the myth that everything had to be new, by taking old pieces we loved and putting them in a modern context.”
On ReSee, the duo styles and shoots everything on models before posting the images online. A 1980s Saint Laurent pussy-bow blouse will be paired with high-waisted jeans, or a pair of punchy Alaïa Archipel shorts (c1985) styled with a simple black camisole. All pieces are sourced from around the world by local ambassadors and sold on consignment; sellers are invited to submit items from a preapproved list of designers. “We want to treat our clients the way that a great luxury brand treats them,” says Bernardin. “Or sometimes even better, because you don’t have to queue.”
Its headquarters are based in Paris; having seen its revenue double in the past three years it says it is now on track to hit €50mn in revenue by 2027. To this end, ReSee recently recruited Sébastien Fabre, co-founder of Vestiaire Collective, and the company is also in the process of setting up offices in the US to better serve their largest market (a recent round of funding raised more than €2mn to begin global expansion).
To celebrate its decade anniversary, the platform is hosting an auction in aid of Women For Women, the global non-profit supporting survivors of war. Fifteen pieces have been donated from the wardrobes of some of the top names in fashion and culture. From a 1991 Alaïa leopard-print coat courtesy of Kim Kardashian – “you know, the one that broke the internet when she wore it during Paris Fashion Week in 2019,” says Bernardin – to a tailored suit donated by Oprah Winfrey to a bespoke Saint Laurent gown made for Russian supermodel Natalia Vodianova. “I’m honoured to offer it for auction,” says Vodianova, who wore it for a fundraiser ball for her Naked Heart Foundation. “Crafted with care by Stefano Pilati, this gown holds memories of a special moment.”
Sherman and Deneuve are both longtime sellers with ReSee. Marshall and Bernardin recall one instance when the Belle de Jour actor contacted them with a handful of pieces to sell, including four Saint Laurent blouses and a Prada Car leather skirt; she insisted each item went out with a personalised card as a way of marking its past life and christening its new one. For this sale, she has put up a 1970 YSL corduroy mutton-sleeve coat.
Sherman’s donation, a chequered Louis Vuitton dress from Marc Jacobs’s time at the house, is also very personal. A long-time muse to Jacobs, “she bought it to wear at a special event,” says Marshall. “Little did Marc know she would love it so much and re-wear it on another occasion where [American artist] Rachel Feinstein was dressed in it too.” (The two women were photographed in their matching dresses.) It’s all part of a wider trend over the past decade, observe the co-founders: where previously women preferred discretion when selling their personal pieces, they are now proud to participate in the circularity of their wardrobes. The eight-day bidding battle will begin on resee.com on 25 April at 6pm CET, with two pieces “released” per day, each available for 24 hours only.
ReSee’s very first “drop” was a 200-plus strong collection from Yves Saint Laurent’s Rive Gauche line, which came into the company’s hands by way of a local collector, setting its reputation for selling that particular brand. Customers also go to it for Phoebe Philo-era Céline, Balenciaga (for example, cargo pants from Nicolas Ghesquière’s 15-year tenure) and Alaïa: the site recently worked with that house’s creative director Pieter Mulier to curate a capsule from the maison’s archives. Yet ReSee’s success – 50 per cent of sellers are still active after five years, with an average of 23 products sold per year per seller – is not limited to its portfolio of big brands, says Marshall. “People come to us because they want to feel inspired.”
The duo is now dipping into menswear. The first men’s style edit was released last month, overseen by curator and creative director of Fursac, Gauthier Borsarello. “It’s been the most successful launch we’ve ever done,” says Bernardin, pointing to the category’s sell-through rate: 75 per cent in less than two weeks. “It’s men, women buying for their men, and women buying for themselves.”
“It feels quite emotional,” says Bernardin. “It definitely hasn’t been easy being two female entrepreneurs. There were many times we sat down with investors and left meetings rattled.”
“But we’ve always stayed true to our vision,” adds Marshall, “a love of fashion – and devotion to finding exceptional pieces with a great story to tell.” Just ask Catherine Deneuve.
The ReSee charity auction launches at 6pm CET on 25 April at resee.com, with two pieces released every 24 hours until 2 May