There's no shortage of options for anyone looking to rehome seasonal high fashion items on the secondary market, but it's rare for a fashion house to take  an active role in outreach and offer incentives for its most loyal clientele to resell last year's purchases. That's why a newly-announced partnership between Alexander McQueen and pre-owned marketplace Vestiaire Collective is making waves in the industry. 

The crux of the collaboration is to encourage "circular practices"—i.e. the reselling of brand-authenticated Alexander McQueen pieces. Launching this week, a select group of clients can expect to be contacted by their Alexander McQueen sales associates. Any pieces the clients wish to resell will be appraised and assigned a "buy-back price," for which clients will receive a brand store credit to use towards new items at McQueen shops. Resold items will be listed on Vestiaire Collective platforms as "Brand Approved" and authenticated. 

"There is an urgent need to address the way we currently produce and consume fashion," Vestiaire Collective Co-founder and President Fanny Moizant said in a statement. "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."

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"Alexander McQueen is committed to a move towards circular practice, both in the design studio and in the development of new business models," Alexander McQueen CEO Emmanuel Gintzburger said in a statement. "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-at-scale, we need to act collectively."

The new "Brand Approved" section on Vestiaire Collective will be available on the app and website beginning Tuesday, 16 February.