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Sumnima Kandangwa

Freelance Editorial Assistant for Style by SCMP


Bending over trays of jade pendants, gemstone brooches and old watches, Dianne Gupta takes her time as she sifts through a heap of tangled necklaces and rings.
“I enjoy the hunt. It’s like finding hidden treasure when I see something I like,” she says, drifting from stall to stall along Apliu Street, well known for second-hand and vintage stalls, in Hong Kong’s Sham Shui Po neighbourhood.
Several years ago, Gupta – who has been buying preloved items since she was a child – found a pair of Miu Miu flats for HK$35 (US$4.50) at a charity shop in Central, on Hong Kong Island. She is chasing that same high today.
She is not alone – shoppers around the world are increasingly turning to different kinds of outlets and spaces to look for luxury fashion.


This is also the case in Hong Kong, where Japanese resale brand Ragtag recently opened a store in Causeway Bay, joining a growing roster of second-hand luxury players in the city.
Ragtag, which sells authenticated pre-owned designer pieces and streetwear labels, follows in the footsteps of fellow Japanese retailers such as Brand Off and 2nd Street, which already have a strong presence in Hong Kong.
A 2026 study by luxury fashion intelligence platform Designer Signals found that the Asia-Pacific second-hand luxury goods market is estimated at roughly US$10.1 billion this year. It also found that it is expected to reach US$18.9 billion by 2034, with Hong Kong one of the region’s key luxury hubs.
A growing demand for sustainability
So what sparked the trend?
“Some people had a very negative perception of [thrifting] – that [it] was dirty,” says Gupta, for whom thrifting began as a financially responsible way to refresh her wardrobe. “I think the more traditional thinkers would be worried about getting bad juju from the item’s previous owner.”
The city’s attitude towards second-hand shopping, however, has changed.
“Resale is moving into mainstream retail locations and, in some cases, more premium environments,” says Barrie Chan, senior director and head of retail at real estate adviser Savills. “That changes consumer perception. That makes second-hand fashion feel less like a fringe activity and more like a legitimate lifestyle retail category that can sit alongside conventional fashion brands.”
Local consumers, especially among the younger crowds, are more environmentally conscious and, as demand grows for sustainability and premium products at more accessible prices, re-commerce is fast becoming a mainstream habit.
Rather than engaging in pure ‘consumption’, today’s Hong Kong clients place a much higher emphasis on an item’s ‘value retention’
Elsa Shen, head of Hana Vintage
Every year, 92 million tonnes of textile waste are produced globally. A 2025 report by Hong Kong-based environmental NGO Redress found that the city discards more than 400 tonnes of textile waste daily.
“I think that really did kind of turn me off from fashion for quite a bit,” says Gupta, who recalls attending a university class that opened her eyes to the negative impact the fashion industry had on the environment.
The trend is further fuelled by social media, where creators often share videos of themselves thrifting at local charity shops and posting “haul” clips showcasing Y2K clothing items and vintage luxury finds.
What drives second-hand shopping?
Elsa Shen, the head of Hana Vintage, a Shanghai-based luxury resale boutique that opened a Hong Kong branch in 2024, identifies the rising cost of living in the city as a primary driver among her customers for shopping second-hand.
“The changing economic environment has prompted consumers to become more rational,” Shen says. “Rather than engaging in pure ‘consumption’, today’s Hong Kong clients place a much higher emphasis on an item’s ‘value retention’ and its ‘liquidity’ within the secondary market.”


Shen also notes that her customer base in Hong Kong, while largely dominated by women aged 25 to 55, has seen two shifts in the past few years.
“First, our customer base is noticeably trending younger,” Shen says, noting that Gen Z customers in their early 20s are starting to buy vintage bags because “they want to avoid clashing styles with others” and also because they resonate with the concept of environmental circularity.
Secondly, the shop’s proportion of male customers has increased. “They are mostly looking for gender-neutral styles or large-capacity travel bags,” she says.
According to Shen, the most popular luxury items among Hongkongers are timeless pieces such as the Hermes Birkin 30 and 35 and the So Kelly. Chanel’s Classic Flap series and Louis Vuitton’s classic monogram pieces are also in high demand and consistently sell out.
At Hana Vintage, each bag is priced according to an exacting formula: brand, style, condition, accessory completeness and real-time market trends; with classic styles commanding higher prices and collectors’ items carrying what Shen calls a “scarcity premium”.
“When boutique retail prices rise, second-hand prices typically follow,” Shen says.
At her boutique, discounts can range from 30 per cent to 90 per cent below retail, depending on the bag and market conditions. In practice, bags in good condition typically sell at 60 per cent to 70 per cent of their original price. Even so, given where luxury pricing sits today, second-hand luxury buyers still have to dig deep into their pockets.
“[Our] customers highly value the coexistence of practicality and investment potential,” Shen says. “They prefer versatile, classic investment pieces that work just as well for daily commutes as they do for evening dinners, and which maintain high liquidity in the resale market.”
The downsides of second-hand shopping
However, just as second-hand shopping has become more accessible and the presence of online resale marketplaces has grown in Hong Kong, so too has the prevalence of counterfeit goods as well as concerns about the quality of preloved designer items. In May, the Hong Kong Customs and Excise Department seized an estimated HK$16 million worth of counterfeit products, including watches, bags and clothing.
“Trust is fundamental, particularly because the quality of counterfeit products continues to improve and some pieces can be difficult even for professionals to assess,” says Daisuke Hirano, head of Japanese subsidiary Tin Pan Alley, which manages resale chains including Ragtag. “Experienced buyers conduct the initial authentication, while high-value luxury bags and accessories are also checked using AI-enabled authentication services such as Entrupy before being offered to customers.”


In 2023, Carousell, a popular resale platform in Hong Kong, launched “Certified Luxury”, a programme that ensures that preloved luxury goods go through authentication checks by trusted experts to assess their quality and legitimacy.
Another downside to the trend is that, despite an emphasis on eco-conscious shopping, the increased accessibility of second-hand goods is leading to overconsumption – a constant concern for Aurianne Ricquier, circular fashion programme director at Redress.
Ricquier notes that the same online trends that have raised awareness about the importance of sustainability and normalised shopping second-hand are now encouraging overconsumption.
“Social media is important to shift mindsets around second-hand because all of us spend so much time on it,” she says. “However, there’s a direct clash with most of the social media content, which is pushing us to buy more stuff all the time.”

It is a concern that has been eating away at Gupta. While her thrift-spot videos perform well, she knows she may be encouraging more consumption. Her response has been to share more upcycling and making-of content, and to be more selective about what she promotes.
Ragtag’s Hirano puts it bluntly: “Resale is not automatically sustainable simply because an item is pre-owned. Its value lies in extending the useful life of products, maintaining their quality and creating trusted circulation.”
The Japanese brand is hoping to place greater emphasis on local buy-back services in Hong Kong and develop a high-quality source of pre-owned luxury inventory.
Going forward, for resale to become more sustainable, Savills’ Chan points to creating a stronger buy-back system.
“A resale business becomes more sustainable when consumers are not just buying second-hand items, but also selling products back into the system,” Chan says. “Strong buy-back activity would suggest that circular fashion is becoming a habit rather than an occasional purchase.”
In Hong Kong, this is already happening on a community level. Organisations such as Redress and community groups like Old But Gold, Top Swop and Swop Society hold clothing-swapping events throughout the year to encourage locals to prolong the lifespan of garments.


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‘I enjoy the hunt’: why Hong Kong shoppers are turning to second-hand luxury fashion

A vintage Chanel bag at Ragtag, in Causeway Bay, Hong Kong. Photo: Jonathan Wong

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Vintage bags at Hana Vintage, in Causeway Bay, Hong Kong. Photo: Jonathan Wong

Accessories at Hana Vintage in Causeway Bay. Photo: Jonathan Wong

Daisuke Hirano, head of Tin Pan Alley, which manages resale chains including Ragtag. Photo: Ragtag HK

A vintage shirt from Comme des Garcons, at Ragtag, in Causeway Bay. Photo: Jonathan Wong

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Fashion & Beauty

Hong Kong’s younger shoppers are embracing preloved designer items for their affordability, sustainability and investment value


Hong Kong’s younger shoppers are embracing preloved designer items for their affordability, sustainability and investment value.


Sustainability

Savills

Redress

‘I enjoy the hunt’: why Hong Kong shoppers are turning to second-hand luxury fashion

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Hong Kong’s younger shoppers are embracing preloved designer items for their affordability, sustainability and investment value

Hong Kong’s younger shoppers are embracing preloved designer items for their affordability, sustainability and investment value