COVID Wrecked The Vintage Fashion Industry And Now It's Coming Back

Covid cornered the vintage industry, and now it's back.Photo by Amos Bar-Zeev on Unsplash

Imagine being told to close down your business. You don’t know for how long, or when you can reopen, or how you’re going to pay next month’s rent.

You’re terrified.

Everything you’ve built could go under. And none of it is in your control. All you can do is change your entire business model amongst desperate circumstances. This is the situation that many independent fashion brands found themselves in during the height of COVID-19. Instead of falling apart, however, they adapted.

“The biggest problem was just having to be closed,” said Kristen Graf, manager at ‘Another Man’s Treasure Vintage Store’ in Jersey City. “So we started an online shopping page. It was a lot of work and we weren’t bringing in tons. It was just enough to keep everything running.”

Customers were clamoring for vintage and independent fashion stores to reopen by summertime. But when they did, many stores made the decision of not allowing customers to try on clothes.

This was a big deal. Before making a purchase, 79% of adult consumers try on items first. It’s hard to put something back when you look that damn good in it.

Across the country, small business fashion stores had to make that decision if they would let customers try on clothes or not. It wasn’t easy. Especially since COVID-19 was still a mystery at that point. Another Man’s Treasure, however, took the gamble and let their customers try on clothes again. It paid off.

“Clothing is a tactile experience,” said Graff. “You want to feel the fabric and have an in-person understanding of what it's like.”

The Future is Now

Nearly 100,000 small businesses that temporarily shut down due to the pandemic are now out of business entirely. The vintage and thrift industry, however, didn’t slow down. Secondhand sales are expected to outpace fast fashion (H&M, Forever 21, and Zara) within the next decade and reach $64 billion by 2028 or $20 billion more than the estimated fast fashion sales, according to ThredUp.

Some analysts predict that as more people embrace frugality or thrift, Americans could begin to change their spending habits in the fallout from this pandemic.

Vintage fashion just faced its greatest challenge during this pandemic.

Now, with the wind behind their back, and quartine nearing its end, there’s nothing stopping the vintage industry.

“I don't even think it's a trend — there’s no way of this stopping now,” said Graf. “Because our shop survived this whole ordeal, that's a true testament to what we're able to do in the future.”

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