T R E N D WA T C H
Marketp lace
When it comes to online marketplaces, we recognize retail
giants such as Amazon, with fulfillment and inventory capabilities that are
seemingly endless. However, there is a new crop of fashion tech
marketplaces moving in. ese feature robust communities of thriving and
passionate members that make it possible.
Bib + Tuck is a members-only marketplace that allows users to
swap clothes and continually press the refresh button on their wardrobes.
e recommerce theme is common among many popular online
marketplaces --- Bib + Tuck is no exception. Users can swap clothing for
“bucks”, a feature that keeps the focus on fashion rather than transactions.
(Editor’s Note: We reported the details of Bib + Tuck’s seed round funding
totaling $600k in our July Report.)
ReFashioner is another similar startup that provides a curated
selling environment to repurpose vintage, couture, and other quality
fashion items. Refashioner originally started as a recommerce site, but
pivoted to become a luxury consignment store without typical
consignment prices.
Material Wrld is a curated online community where users can
shop personal closets of everyone from friends to fashion’s tastemakers.
Material Wrld aimed to expand internationally from the beginning, citing
the importance of a global marketplace to retain user interest, and
launched the site officially this past March. e site is more a luxury
consignment experience with higher price points, and has rolled out
significant site revamps including real time feeds of site activity.
Luvocracy is another recently funded company that acts as a
Pinterest-like marketplace to discover new items and meet people through
products others recommend. All items posted to the site must be readily
available for purchase which solves the problem of finding a unique
product, only to see its past season. (Editor’s Note: We tracked $11M in
Series A funding for Luvocracy as reported in our June Report.)
Lastly, a notable player in the space is social marketplace
readflip, the peer-to-peer marketplace that captured $6.5M in funding,
(as featured in our most recent July Report). WIth an editorial element
“Clothes are personal, therefore a peer-to-peer
marketplace is a perfect fit for pre-owned (or, as
we say: "owned") merchandise. Because it’s a true
community that’s part of a bigger movement,
people get passionate about ReFashioner. It truly
belongs to our members, who generate content—
stories & images—as part of every selling page.
Then that’s wrapped in explicit editorial context
about creative reuse and better consumption—it’s
not “social commerce” or any buzzword concept,
it’s timely, and real. People crave and respond to
that. As long as they also get attentive service,
seamless tech, and attractive price points! But
those are taken for granted; it's the interactivity
and shared interest that stands out.”
- Kate Sekules, Founder of ReFashioner
including featured bloggers and style personality features, readflip aims
to make online recommerce both inspirational and collaborative.
ere were 40 Marketplace-categorized companies listed in the ird Wave
Fashion fashion tech database as of press time. To learn more, contact us or
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