A decade ago, buying pre-owned designer goods in South Africa meant scrolling Gumtree and hoping the photos were legit. Is it real? Where did it come from? Can I trust this seller?
Now the questions sound different: Which one? What color? Which year?
Michael Zahariev, co-founder of Luxity, has watched this shift firsthand. As his company marks ten years in business, those sales records tell the story of how South African taste evolved—what we wore, what we ditched, and what came roaring back.
**Bags are sharing the spotlight**
Ten years ago, handbags made up two-thirds of resale purchases. Today, it's one in five.
Bags haven't lost their appeal—they've never been worth more. The average pre-owned bag now sells for R28,238, up from R12,599. With classic designer bags climbing 50% to 70% in price since 2019, pre-owned has become the smarter entry point.
What's changed is confidence. People got comfortable buying pre-owned, and their shopping lists expanded. Shoes jumped from one in ten purchases to nearly one in three. Watches, which Luxity didn't even carry in 2017, now average R49,999. Apparel arrived in 2021. This year, someone bought homeware.
"The resale customer is much more fashion-literate now," says Zahariev. "They know the brands, the collections, and what they're hunting for."
**2016 was peak Gucci**
Alessandro Michele took over as creative director in 2015 and made maximalism the look of the moment. Dionysus bags were everywhere.
That wave is now hitting resale hard. One in seven pieces sold in 2017 was Gucci. Today it's one in five. Meanwhile, Louis Vuitton dropped from four in ten pieces to just over two. Michele left, Gucci changed direction, and suddenly those pieces became collectible.
Dolce & Gabbana grew from 0.9% of sales to 5.2%. Versace jumped from 0.4% to 2.8%. Montblanc, absent from early records, now sits at 2.9%. Chanel and Hermès lost volume share but still move more individual pieces than in 2017.
**Musical chairs at the top**
The past decade brought major creative shake-ups. In 2018 alone: Hedi Slimane replaced Phoebe Philo at Celine, Virgil Abloh went to Louis Vuitton menswear, Kim Jones moved to Dior, and Riccardo Tisci took Burberry. Then 2025 hit fast-forward. Jonathan Anderson grabbed both menswear and womenswear at Dior, Matthieu Blazy moved to Chanel, Demna took Gucci, and Donatella Versace stepped down after thirty years.
Every designer exit reshapes the resale market.
"You get to watch the fashion cycle in real time," Zahariev notes. "A brand cools off, a style comes back, and a piece that sat untouched for years becomes the one everyone wants."
**What people watched, they wanted**
When *Succession* mocked a Burberry tote as "ludicrously capacious" in 2023, searches jumped 310%. *House of Gucci* sent people digging through the brand's archives in 2021. *Emily in Paris* put French luxury in front of millions.
South Africa had its own moments. Tyla's red-carpet run became a global fashion story—Balmain at the 2024 Met Gala, custom Jacquemus in 2025, custom Valentino by Alessandro Michele in 2026. The man who defined Gucci in 2016 is now dressing South Africa's biggest pop star.
Amapiano brought its own dress code, mixing Rich Mnisi and Galxboy with Louis Vuitton and Gucci. Netflix South Africa turned ten this year, and Luxity pieces have popped up in local shows like *Bad Influencer*.
Then there's the scroll. A decade ago, magazine editors called the shots. Now it's influencers, and the bar is relentless. Resale is how people keep up, fueled by content explicitly about buying pre-owned.
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