EBay launched Endless Runway, its first live fashion shows during the SS2025 Fashion Week schedules in New York and London while Zara expands its secondhand platform.
Kicking off its inaugural Pre-Loved Fashion Week, EBay’s live Endless Runway shows spotlighted secondhand designer fashion in collaboration with the Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA) and the British Fashion Council (BFC). The initiative seeks to merge sustainability with high fashion by offering consumers the opportunity to purchase pre-owned designer pieces directly from the catwalk.
The demand for pre-loved luxury items continues to grow, with global sales of secondhand goods reaching nearly $50 billion in 2023. This trend is particularly prevalent among younger consumers who seek accessible entry points into the luxury market. EBay has capitalized on this shift, with pre-loved and refurbished items now making up 40 percent of its gross merchandise volume. The platform reports that in June 2024, global users searched for “vintage” more than 1,000 times per minute, highlighting the increasing interest in sustainable fashion options.
Kirsty Keoghan, EBay’s General Manager of Fashion, commented on the company’s leadership role in this space: “With the launch of Pre-Loved Fashion Week, we’re showing up on fashion’s biggest stage and demonstrating that authentic designer fashion doesn’t have to be out of reach.”
‘Stellar Selection’
The effort taps into a broader movement within the fashion industry toward sustainability and reuse, as seen in the growing popularity of secondhand markets and vintage fashion. Caroline Rush, CEO of the British Fashion Council, emphasized the cultural significance of this shift during London Fashion Week’s 40th anniversary, stating that the event will “bring new life to archival pieces while making fashion week accessible to a wider audience” and encouraging consumers to prioritize circular fashion.
“New York Fashion Week showcases the best of American fashion and beyond, and it is amazing how EBay brings together such a stellar selection of vintage, archival, and coveted items from these brands,” Steven Kolb, CEO of the CFDA, said in a statement. “EBay Pre-Loved Fashion Week and its Endless Runway live show connects the past, present, and future – and delivers a powerful reminder that the future of fashion is circular.”
In New York, the Endless Runway featured collections curated by fashion creative Wisdom Kaye and hosted by Liana Satenstein, a well-known fashion writer. The show included archival pieces from designers such as Ralph Lauren, Toteme, and Brandon Maxwell, all available for immediate purchase via eBay Live. In London, the showcase was curated by eBay’s Pre-Loved Style Director, Amy Bannerman, and hosted by model Leomie Anderson, spotlighting British designers such as Christopher Kane and Simone Rocha.
“As we celebrate 40 years of London Fashion Week, we are excited to partner with EBay to showcase the incredible British brands and designers that have played such an important part of London Fashion Week over the past four decades,” said Caroline Rush, CEO of the British Fashion Council. “The Endless Runway catwalk will bring new life to archival pieces while making fashion week accessible to a wider audience and empowering consumers to prioritize sustainable and circular fashion choices.”
Wisdom Kaye, Fashion Creative represented by IMG Models and WME, said working with EBay on Endless Runway has been “creatively rewarding.
“When I style my own outfits, the goal is always to break through conformity, to create something that’s totally one-of-a-kind – and choosing pre-loved gives me limitless possibilities,” Kaye said. “Plus, it’s the most sustainable way to actually own the designer items you love but feel unattainable.”
Zara Pre-Owned comes to the U.S.
The runway shows came as Inditex fast-fashion giant Zara announced it will launch its secondhand service in the U.S. by the end of next month. The new platform, called Pre-Owned, allows customers to sell, repair, or donate their used Zara items, prolonging the lifecycle of garments that might otherwise end up in landfills. This initiative is part of the broader efforts by Zara’s parent company, Inditex, to reduce waste and raw material consumption across its markets.
The platform first launched in the U.K. in 2022 and has since expanded to sixteen European countries, including Spain, France, and Germany. Accessible through Zara stores, the company’s website, and its app, Inditex says Zara’s Pre-Owned makes it easy for customers to participate in the circular fashion movement. Inditex says it intends to have the Pre-Owned service operating in all of its strategic markets by 2025.
Zara’s competitors, such as H&M, have already launched similar resale platforms, with H&M’s U.S. secondhand items available through a partnership with ThredUp, demonstrating the growing trend of secondhand fashion among major retailers.
In addition to expanding its secondhand service, Zara is set to launch live shopping shows in the U.S. and several other key markets in the coming months, including Canada, Spain, France, and the U.K. This digital shopping format has already seen success in China, where Zara’s live shows on Douyin, the Chinese version of TikTok, have become a popular way to shop. According to retail analytics firm Edited, these five-hour-long broadcasts, held weekly since November, have significantly boosted Zara’s sales in China.
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