Why the red carpet has fallen in love with vintage fashion

“This old thing? I’ve had it forever.” Never has the faux humble compliment bat-back been more frequently bandied about. Even now, at the peak of the January sales, on the cusp of pre-Ramadan shopping sprees, and with new season collections filtering into luxury boutiques, buying new feels at best 2012, and at worst 2023. Fashion fatigue has been filtering its way into the mainstream for years. Uncomfortable truths about landfill, luxury leathergoods prices soaring beyond their desirability, mindless consumption being eaten up by the experience economy; is 2026 the year we finally get the fashion—fast or otherwise—ick? 

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The red carpet—hardly a harbinger of modesty and restraint— already suggests that old is new and new is old. The chicest awards ceremony credit? Archival. Just ask Elle Fanning (Ralph Lauren 2003 at last week’s Critics’ Choice Awards), Ariana Grande (1960s Givenchy couture for last year’s Golden Globes, 1991 Yves Saint Laurent at the Oscars nominee dinner, and 2007 Dior at the Governors Awards), or Scarlett Johansson (1999 Thierry Mugler for the 2025 Oscars). With the 2026 Golden Globes this weekend, it’s likely that stars unable to secure Jonathan Anderson for Dior or Matthieu Blazy’s Chanel, will task stylists with sourcing rare vintage for their red-carpet moment.

When I got my first job in fashion journalism in London in the early 2000s, vintage was strictly defined as anything between 20 and 100 years old. Younger than that is merely second-hand (not a phrase you tend to hear on E!’s Live From the Red Carpet). I suspect that Gen Z onwards have no time for such definitions. The kids I know eschew capital letters and grammar, so I doubt they concern themselves with academic definitions of what is and isn’t vintage. That said, they are the customers turbo-charging sales of second-hand, vintage, and archival pieces. McKinsey reports that the second-hand fashion and luxury market is forecast to grow up to three times faster than the first-hand market over the next year, with the global secondhand apparel market expected to reach $317 billion (Dh116 trillion) by 2027. In China, more than 70 per cent of customers say they are likely to shop resale this year. Over in Europe, at the start of 2025, reseller Vinted became the biggest retailer by sales volume in France, according to industry title Fashion Network. Event-wear which promises uniqueness, items with durability (such as outerwear), accessories perceived as assets (for example watches), are clear winners in the resale game. And the best part? Consumers, not fashion executives, set the prices. And those prices—with the exception of select Hermès styles—will, in most cases, be below retail. Those that command a resale premium—not unlike a Taylor Swift concert ticket—can ignite re-selling practices much to the chagrin of luxury bosses. 

Axel Dumas, the chief executive of Hermès, told investors, “Sometimes we have false customers come to our stores to buy them, to resell them, and they prevent us from serving our real customers, and that is a real cause for concern for us.” His firm’s iconic ‘Birkin’ bag has appreciated in value by 92 per cent on the resale market over the last decade, according to US reseller Rebag. “So, I’m not at all happy to see this development of new bags that are sold in the second-hand market,” Dumas said, “I pull a face, and I’m not happy, and it doesn’t make me feel in a good mood.” One might argue that demand outstripping supply is a nice problem to have as a luxury executive, but as the head of a house that comfortably outperformed rivals LVMH and Kering last year, Dumas is clearly irked by behaviour that removes his product from his ecosystem. Like those capital letters and commas, however, Gen Z are unbothered. 

There are exceptions to the re-sale game. Underwear, swim- and gym-wear, is best bought box-fresh. In the US, Lululemon offers a ‘Like New’ resale programme; great for the circular economy, however, call me Xillennial, I’d rather be the only one sweating into my leggings. 

At the other end of the vintage scale, Louis Vuitton’s classic monogram canvas celebrates its 130th anniversary this year. Strictly speaking that places it in the post-vintage, antique category. To celebrate the iconic marque, created in 1896, this month Vuitton releases its Monogram Anniversary Collection. The house’s ‘Time Trunk Collection’ features trompe-l’oeil printing that reproduces the textures and metallic details of Louis Vuitton historic trunks, ‘transforming heritage into artful illusion’. Simultaneously archival, antique and, whisper it, brand new. If you’re craving a new season style hit that’s anything but nouveau, Vuitton’s time travelling treasures represent a true convergence of past and present.