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When ‘Call Her Daddy’ podcast host Alexandra Cooper got married last month, she wore three different bridal looks, two of which were vintage: an archival SS03 Alexander McQueen ‘Irere’ dress for her wedding reception, and an archival SS95 Gianni Versace Couture corset for the afterparty. Both were sourced by Cooper’s stylist Mimi Cuttrell from Tab Vintage, an online vintage designer store that expanded into bridal in 2023.
Cooper wearing a secondhand wedding dress is a deal-sealing endorsement for a booming market. Inspired by celebrities like Cooper, Sofia Richie Grainge and Hailey Bieber, everyday brides are similarly lining up multiple outfit changes — and many are purchasing luxury labels secondhand to be able to do so. Others may be motivated by wanting to shop more sustainably.
“I have brides who come in and get a ceremony dress, a welcome-party look, and an afterparty mini all for under what they originally had budgeted just for their one main dress,” says Tab Vintage founder Alexis Novak. When Novak spent hours searching for her own wedding dress, she figured other brides were in the same boat. Today around 50 per cent of sales are now from Tab Vintage’s bridal edit. “It quickly became one of the pillars of our business.”
Social media has also created dress overexposure. With wedding albums now taking the form of curated Instagram galleries, the chances of having the same look as another woman have increased significantly — something less current is thus enticing. “At this point, everyone knows at least three brides who have worn a Vivienne Westwood or a Danielle Frankel gown to their wedding,” Novak says. “They are gorgeous designs. But if brides are looking for something no other bride getting married in the same season will be wearing, vintage is the way to go.”
The RealReal began to see demand for wedding attire pick up around the second half of 2021. And demand is going strong in 2024, with searches for “vintage white dresses” up 54 per cent last month, compared to the year prior, the company says. The site recently received a rare Christian Dior Haute Couture dress by Raf Simons that sold within days of being listed. “Brides are now taking the leap of buying online, a less-traditional manner, in exchange for what could be a show-stopping secondhand or vintage piece,” says Heather Klein, associate merchandise manager at The RealReal.
Brides increasingly inquire about an item’s future resale value before purchase. Tab Vintage offers consignment on bridal pieces, and brides are informed that, condition dependent, the store is happy to consign and resell for them. “If kept in good condition and cared for properly, they not only hold their value, but it increases over time,” Novak says. “When making the purchase there’s an understanding of resale price from the get-go,” Klein adds. “Brides know they can earn a return if they opt to reconsign.”
The brand opportunity
After noticing an uptick in brides bringing in secondhand dresses for alterations, luxury bridal brand Galia Lahav began researching a way to take out the middleman. As a result, Re:Galia, a peer-to-peer marketplace, was soft-launched in late March. It marks the first luxury bridal and occasionwear brand to have a website dedicated to resale and, if successful, could signify an industry-wide shift. “Our ambition is to transform the bridal resale landscape,” says co-CEO Idan Lahav.
Re:Galia is in line with the brand’s zero inventory destruction model – every gown is made-to-order and any excess resources are used to create additional inventory – and cites regions such as Europe, Australia and Asia, where sustainability appears to be a driving factor in purchasing, as those it anticipates to be early adopters. The prevalence of imitations in the market was another consideration. With designer wedding gowns, including Galia Lahav, being resold currently on specialist secondhand wedding sites and bridal stores, as well as the likes of Ebay, Poshmark, Facebook Marketplace and Craigslist, the brand hoped to create a platform that would facilitate trustworthy transactions, ensuring authenticity and clear communication.
To differentiate Re:Galia from an already-saturated bridal resale market, the website offers unreleased designs, one-of-a-kind archival runway pieces, sales promotions and exclusive celebrity looks. Alongside dresses listed for sale by previous brides, the brand will also be adding inventory of its own in the form of store samples. At the time of writing, Galia Lahav has 21 dresses listed, including a renewed runway sample for $5,900 — nearly half the price off its $11,000 retail price. Other gowns on the marketplace are generally between 20 per cent and 40 per cent off their original price tag, depending on the condition and customisations of the piece. Sellers make 80 per cent of their listed prices, with the remaining 20 per cent split equally between Galia Lahav and Treet, a resale service provider that oversees authentication, logistics, payments and site functionality.
Galia Lahav says there are around 5,000 brides buying new gowns annually with an average retail price of $15,000. This includes the likes of Simone Biles, Vanessa Hudgens, Paris Hilton and Rita Ora. Beyoncé wore the brand’s heritage ‘Thelma’ gown for her vow-renewal ceremony. Flagship stores serve as pivotal hubs for the business, with Galia Lahav carrying out personalised two-hour consultations for brides.
The brand doesn’t anticipate the secondhand marketplace to impact sales. Rather, the aim is to consolidate all brides who are already purchasing secondhand elsewhere and to, eventually, offer them an experience as close to the bespoke luxury store one as possible. “Bridging the gap between the growing secondhand and vintage market with the bridal market requires a reimagining of the industry, particularly in the US,” says co-CEO Osnat Lahav.
“The success of such a platform hinges not only on the distinction between new and secondhand dresses, but on catering to different shopping preferences,” Lahav continues. “Between those who enjoy the physical experience of retail stores and those who prefer the convenience of online shopping. It’s essential to recognise that this digital shift won’t replace the physical shopping experience, which remains cherished by many brides.”
Tab Vintage, too, has found many brides still yearn for that special in-person moment. When the brand announced pop-up events in LA and New York, both sold out within minutes. “We are very excited to be opening a physical space this summer where brides will be able to schedule appointments anytime,” says Novak.
For Galia Lahav, the platform also serves as a branding exercise, allowing it to regain control of how the gowns are sold to ensure the dresses — and the label — hold value. The brand hopes Re:Galia will become a community-building tool — a space for GL brides to congregate and to create a special moment between two brides over one dress. “For us, Re:Galia isn’t just a pre-owned marketplace, it’s an extension of the Galia Lahav experience,” says Lahav. “Imagine The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants but make it bridal.”
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