Special friends; Mc Queen

Many of us want to support a kinder world and place where we really waste less, but this is hard when it comes to designer clothes. We may love our fashion but we may hate waste. A new collaboration between Alexander McQueen and Vestiaire Collective becomes the first luxury fashion label to partner in an “empowering move towards circular practices”. Know more about Special Friends; Mc Queen here.

Image Credits- Chris Moore Catwalking.

Alexander McQueen is a British luxury fashion house founded by designer Alexander McQueen in 1992 with its current creative director Sarah Burton. They have collaborated with Vestiaire Collective. A leading online marketplace to buy and sell authenticated pre-owned luxury fashion.

The collaboration will see McQueen becoming the reseller’s first brand to join its new ‘Brand Approved’ programme, which allows the fashion house to have some control over what is bought and sold. The move is part of McQueen’s “growing commitment to the durability of luxury fashion,” explained the fashion house, and its sales team will contact select clients to see if they have any pieces by the brand they wish to sell.

All pieces clients wish to sell will be assessed and if eligible assigned a buy-back price, explained McQueen, with each one authenticated by the fashion house before being added to Vestiaire Collective. The client will then be issued a credit note to purchase new items from specified Alexander McQueen stores.

The assessed pieces will then be processed by Vestiaire Collective and given an external NFC tag so that the new buyers can access information confirming its authenticity. The pieces will be available to purchase on a dedicated ‘Brand Approved’ page on the Vestiaire Collective app and site.

The concept, both companies explained, facilitates a move towards sustainability in the fashion industry, by giving new life to McQueen’s unique beautiful garments, as well as highlighting the importance of offering a more considered buying philosophy.

Below are two pieces that will be available at the time of launch, the first a tartan skirt from Lee Alexander McQueen’s ‘Widows Of Culloden’ AW06 show, the second a tuxedo jacket from Sarah Burton’s first show as Creative Director for SS11.

Emmanuel Gintzburger, CEO Alexander McQueen comments: “AlexanderMcQueen is committed to a move towards circular practice, both in the design studio and in the development of new business models. We are delighted to be the first house in the world to collaborate with Vestiaire Collective on its Brand approved programme and to give beautifully crafted pieces a new story. We are confident that our customers will be equally excited to take part in an initiative that challenges a linear economy and sets a new and more sustainable standard for the future. We hope many houses will follow because to have impact-atscale,we need to act collectively.”

 Fanny Moizant, Vestiaire Collective Co-founder and President comments: “There is an urgent need to address the way we currently produce and consume fashion. Vestiaire Collective’s ‘Brand Approved’ programme offers a sustainable solution, reinforcing the importance of durability, whilst empowering first-hand fashion players to disrupt their linear business models and embrace circularity. We are incredibly excited to launch the new service in collaboration with the prestigious house of Alexander McQueen, driving a shared mission to embed circularity at the heart of the fashion ecosystem”. This collaboration represents an exciting merging of compatible values and emphasises the importance of offering a more considered buying philosophy.

To discover the collaboration you can download the Vestiaire Collective App or visit vestiairecollective.com from 16th February 2021.

For more information about the collaboration visit here

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