eBay Australia is bringing several initiatives to Australian Fashion Week 2025, which includes a pre-loved runway show during a dinner on Wednesday night this week.
The Pre-Loved Runway Show will showcase archival pieces from leading Australian designers, including Aje, Bianca Spender, Lee Mathews, Romance Was Born and Nagnata. All will be styled by celebrity stylist Jess Pecoraro.
The dinner event is being hosted by eBay and Vogue Australia, and comes as the global secondhand market is projected to hit $367 billion by 2029 according to the ThredUp Resale Report 2025.
“Recommerce is transforming the fashion landscape, and pre-loved fashion is rapidly becoming mainstream,” eBay Australia fashion lead Anne-Marie Cheney said. “In 2024, nearly 40 per cent of all clothing, shoes, and accessories sold on eBay globally were listed as pre-loved, and global users searched for ‘vintage’ more than 1,200 times per minute.
“As more Australians discover the joy of shopping pre-loved, brands and resellers have an unprecedented opportunity to fuel industry growth and drive positive change. At the forefront of this movement, eBay is empowering buyers and sellers to give fashion a second life, proving that great style should be loved, re-loved, and kept in circulation, never wasted."
Alongside the re-commerce boom, research from Seamless reveals that over 222,000 tonnes of clothing were sent to Australian landfills in 2023 alone.
Meanwhile, eBay’s global Recommerce Report shows that 92 per cent of Australian buyers state that sustainability is important to them when it comes to buying pre-loved goods.
On a local scale, eBay sells a pre-loved dress every 60 seconds on its platform in Australia, and a pre-loved shirt every 90 seconds.
Australian brands like Aje, Country Road, and Zimmermann are searched for every 20 seconds on eBay Australia.
Australian designer labels including Aje, Alemais, Gorman, Scanlan Theodore, and Zimmermann rank among the most sought-after brands for women’s dresses on eBay Australia.
“As an industry, we have a responsibility, and a remarkable opportunity, to lead the shift toward circular fashion,” Australian Fashion Council CEO Jaana Quaintance-James said.
“Real change will come through bold collaboration across the entire ecosystem: designers, retailers, consumers, and policymakers.
“Recommerce is a critical lever in reducing fashion’s footprint, and platforms like eBay are helping to bring that vision to life. Australian Fashion Week shows what’s possible when innovation meets intent, and it's this kind of leadership that will shape a more sustainable future for fashion."
Alongside its runway show and dinner on Wednesday night this week, eBay Australia will also host a Pre-Loved Lounge at Carriageworks from May 13 to 16. Those who book a one-to-one meeting with eBay at the eBay Pre-Loved Lounge will receive 50 per cent off selling fees for the first three months.
Beyond the runway, eBay Australia continued its investment in circular fashion through its second annual Circular Fashion Fund. This year, eBay awarded $100,000 to Shopfront, for its efforts in tackling textile waste.
Additionally, in 2023, eBay Ventures invested in The Volte, one of the largest designer fashion rental marketplaces globally.