Unzipping the Past: Reasons that Drive Demand for Vintage Fashion
The word vintage was originally adopted by winemakers to denote a year’s wine harvest. While in the fashion world, vintage refers to a style from particular era, usually between the 1920s and 1980s.
Interest in vintage clothing has surged since the early 1990s due to celebrity endorsement. Popular role models like Michelle Obama and Kate Moss regularly wear vintage clothing in public settings, promoting the image of a classic look.
Now, vintage clothing is a multi-billion dollar industry. Its high demand isn’t just because it’s trendy; there’s more depth to why people never get bored of vintage clothing.
Nostalgia
The term “nostalgia” derives from the Greek words nostos (return) and algos (pain). Together, it is the ache evoked by a desire to return to one’s past.
Researchers had broadened this definition as “a preference (general liking, positive attitude, or favorable effect) toward objects (people, places or things) that were more common when one was younger (in early adulthood, in adolescence, in childhood, or even before birth).”
This definition suggests that nostalgia most commonly attaches to experiences that are object related.
There are two types of nostalgia: personal nostalgia and historical nostalgia.
Studies have shown that people can experience nostalgic feelings for a period in which they had not lived. Meanwhile, women were found to be more prone to nostalgic feelings than men. And youth are just as prone to nostalgia as older adults.
In fashion, vintage pieces have become a core cultural memory and historic imagery component. Higher nostalgia proneness suggests a greater motivation to purchase original, genuine vintage pieces.
Individuality
The time preserved in vintage clothing makes the clothes more valuable and exclusive compared to regular fashion clothing.
Respondents in a 2008 study stated that vintage clothing allows them to stand out quicker than mainstream fashion. This belief suggests that individuals with a stronger need for uniqueness are more likely to make unconventional consumer choices.
Enhancing their sense of differentiation through possession of rare pieces infers the snob effect, which depicts an individual’s discouragement from buying a high-demanded good available to everyone.
Consequently, individuality becomes the leading reason that drives the demand for vintage clothes.
Eco-fashion Movement
Over the last decade, the reuse and recycling of clothes have become effective ways to reduce waste and encourage sustainability. The motives behind donating and purchasing second-hand goods are rooted in the idea of prolonging the lifespan of products.
Due to positive impacts of sustainable clothing, the fashion industry tends to merge recycled fabrics with vintage clothes.
For example, Yves Saint Laurent uses recycled cotton drills from the couture horse archives to design unique pieces in its New Vintage Collection.
Meanwhile, in the denim industry, Levi Strauss has encouraged consumers to return their old jeans in exchange for a new pair at half price. And the old jeans, cleaned and repaired, are resold as their vintage collection.
Purchasing second-hand pieces is becoming a fashion movement against the “Kleenex society” that promotes throw-away behaviors. It discourages consumerism and slows down the production and selling of unnecessary goods.
Thus, the more eco-conscious the consumer, the more likely they purchase vintage and second-hand pieces.
