Columnist Sarah Henshaw notes how French fashion is embracing preloved clothes<\/p>\n
\n Clothing repair services are booming, thanks to a government-backed financial incentive to patch up outfits
\n Natali Ximich \/ Shutterstock\n <\/p>\n
There is only one shop in town selling new clothes. It\u2019s called Imagine!, which seems apposite, considering how few of my friends back in the UK can, in fact, imagine such a denuded high street.<\/p>\n
But what it lacks in traditional fashion retailers it makes up for in friperies (secondhand clothes stores), charity shops, vide-dressings (jumble sales specifically for clothes), and a lovely local app called Toototoor (pronounced \u2018Tout autour\u2019), which was born in a nearby Ni\u00e8vre village to promote social links via the exchange or gifting of services, transport and goods \u2013 including clothes.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Supplementing my supply of pre-loved outfits is a Dutch mum at my son\u2019s school \u2013 responsible for 95% of his wardrobe courtesy of her own (older) sons\u2019 hand-me-downs \u2013 and my friend Sophie, who is slowly divesting herself of the sartorial trappings of her former life in Paris and giving me first refusal.<\/p>\n
Why frugal living is cool<\/p>\n
What is happening here is illustrative of a wider appetite in France for secondhand fashion.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Sure, the country may have built a global reputation for couture and luxury brands, but its native consumers are slowly adding \u2018frugal\u2019 and \u2018sustainable\u2019 to the clothing vernacular.<\/p>\n
A recent study by the Circular Fashion Federation showed France leading the resale apparel market in Europe.\u00a0<\/p>\n
In 2024 it accounted for just over a quarter (26%) of Europe’s secondhand fashion revenue \u2013 equivalent to \u20ac4.1billion.\u00a0<\/p>\n
By 2030, that figure could jump to \u20ac6.3billion, with the country’s projected annual growth rate standing at 7.4%.\u00a0<\/p>\n
By contrast, the UK is forecast to see a 4% annual decline in secondhand fashion sales.<\/p>\n
Clothing and footwear repair services are also on the rise in France, thanks partly to a government scheme launched in late 2023 offering financial aid to patch up outfits rather than condemn them to the dustbin.<\/p>\n