eBay and the CFDA open New York Fashion Week with a one-night exhibition of more than 150 archival American garments, capped by a live auction hosted by Jenna Lyons.
Winona Ryder walked into a Beverly Hills courtroom in the fall of 2002 wearing a Marc Jacobs dress with a white collar printed directly into the fabric, a trompe-l’Å“il trick that read as schoolgirl contrition from ten feet away. She was on trial for shoplifting. The dress outlasted the verdict, and Jacobs cast her in his spring 2003 advertising campaign not long after.
The dress goes up for bidding on Sept. 9 as one of more than 150 archival American garments in Endless Runway: The Archive, a one-night exhibition eBay is staging with the Council of Fashion Designers of America to open New York Fashion Week. Every piece on view was sourced from eBay or contributed directly by the houses that made it, and a selection of them will be sold in a live auction hosted by Jenna Lyons and streamed from the exhibition floor at 7:30 p.m. ET on eBay Live. Proceeds go to the CFDA.
What is in the Endless Runway archive auction
Carlos Nazario, the stylist and editor who serves as global fashion director of i-D, organized the exhibition around five chapters: the glamour and liberation of the 1970s, the rise of American sportswear, 1990s minimalism and grunge, the American designers who went on to run European houses, and the designers shaping New York now.
The lots contributed by the houses read like a syllabus. There is a Calvin Klein Collection dress from spring 1996, a Diane von Furstenberg wrap dress from spring 2006, a Jason Wu dress from fall 2011, a Proenza Schouler PS1 bag from spring 2018, a Tommy Hilfiger leather dress and cashmere coat from fall 2016, a Vera Wang ballgown from spring 2024, and a Willy Chavarria gown from spring 2025. The pieces eBay pulled from its own marketplace lean stranger and more personal: a Bob Mackie beaded silk gown Miley Cyrus wore on The Voice in 2017, a Tom Ford for Gucci mini dress modeled by Helena Christensen in spring 1996, a Tom Ford for Yves Saint Laurent silk skirt suit from spring 2003, a Virgil Abloh for Louis Vuitton varsity jacket from fall 2019, a Norma Kamali sleeping bag coat, and a Marc Jacobs for Perry Ellis American flag sweater once modeled by Julia Roberts. Everything was styled by Brie Welch, eBay’s resident stylist.
“eBay has always brought enthusiasts closer to the things they’re passionate about, and eBay Live gives us a new way to make those moments even more immersive,” Ashish Chhabra, vice president and general manager of eBay Live, said in a statement. “With Endless Runway: The Archive, we’re opening up this incredible collection to people everywhere, giving them the opportunity to discover the stories behind these iconic pieces, engage with the experts who know them best, bid in real time and own a piece of fashion history.”
Archival fashion is driving the resale market
Demand for vintage on The RealReal is up 432 percent since 2020, according to its 2026 resale report, with decade-specific saved searches rising 135 percent year over year and searches for 2000s fashion jumping 93 percent. ThredUp’s 2026 report projects the U.S. resale market at $78.8 billion by 2030 and the global figure at $393 billion, with Gen Z and millennial shoppers driving more than 70 percent of that growth. Pre-loved and refurbished goods have accounted for more than 40 percent of eBay’s gross merchandise volume since 2024.
“There are brand loyalists, but there are definitely creative-vision loyalists who follow people from house to house,” Noelle Sciacca, associate director of fashion merchandising and content strategy at The RealReal, told Glossy. “A savvy brand is definitely paying attention to what is happening within the resale market because it gives people an inventory of product that goes beyond a season.”
eBay has spent three seasons building toward an exhibition of this scale, launching Pre-Loved Fashion Week in 2024 with the CFDA and the British Fashion Council, then returning last year with Endless Runway shows in New York and London featuring Erdem, Luar, Altuzarra, Kallmeyer, and Ahluwalia.
“New York Fashion Week is built on generations of designers who have shaped American fashion, and eBay’s Endless Runway: The Archive celebrates that legacy,” Steven Kolb, president and CEO of the CFDA, said in a statement. “Through its marketplace and this retrospective, eBay connects more than three decades of rare, vintage and archival fashion with the collectors shaping its future.”
Among the pieces going to auction is a crystal-embroidered slip dress Michael Kors first showed for Resort 1990 and revived on Bella Hadid at his 40th anniversary show. “It’s super glamorous but also streamlined, seasonless and timeless,” Kors said in a statement. “This dress was first shown for Resort 1990 and has since been worn by everyone from Madonna to Sabrina Carpenter. I think it looks every bit as glamorous 35 years later.”
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