Influencers are called that with good reason. For better or for worse, they use their platforms to sartorially guide their followers – who may number anywhere between 10k and 3 million – from showing them the first drop of a designer collaboration to offering styling tips straight from the streets of fashion month.
Whether you see this as the death of originality or a hotbed of style inspiration, there's no denying their leverage. Just look at the pieces that fly off the (digital) shelves once Insta-famous women are spotted wearing them. Réalisation Par's leopard-print silk skirt was summer's best example, and we're awaiting Lyst's roundup of the most worn pieces at London Fashion Week, which will inevitably increase in value now that street style photos have flooded our feeds.
AdvertisementADVERTISEMENT
So what if you could buy directly from your favourite influencer's wardrobe? The Resolution Store, launching this Friday (21st September), provides just that: access to the sellout, hotly tipped, must-have pieces from some of the biggest influencers. Founded by Anna Sutton and Alicia Waite, who have a collective 20 years' experience in the fashion industry, the resell site will stock clothes sourced from both fashion influencers and insiders – but this isn't just about giving customers a slice of the personal style they see on the 'gram.
"I've worked brand-side for years, and seeing influencer culture grow exponentially, it is an inevitable part of the job that influencers are both gifted and buy a lot of clothes and have a huge amount of followers who would love to buy into their style," Anna explains. "I became both conscious and curious of what was happening to the huge amount of clothing that donned the backs of the stylish influencers." What's the impact of this short-lived cycle of trends?
"The bigger they’ve become, the more clothing they receive, buy and source, but once they’ve posted about a piece on Instagram, they have to move on to other pieces in order to stay fresh," Alicia says. "Just because a piece isn’t current season, doesn’t mean it hasn’t taken a huge amount of work – as well as water, energy, natural (or non-natural) fibres. It really bothers me that they might end up languishing at the back of someone’s wardrobe unwanted, when they could be having a life elsewhere."
AdvertisementADVERTISEMENT
And if they're not gathering dust and moth holes in the back of their wardrobes, there's the danger that pieces will end up in landfill, contributing to the fashion industry's already alarming impact on global warming. "Thus, The Resolution Store was born: a platform that offers a unique opportunity to buy into 'influencer style' directly, in a neatly curated and easy-to-navigate space, extending the life cycle of unused clothes," Alicia says. "We aim to recycle, revive, and reduce waste," Anna agrees.
What differentiates The Resolution Store from the likes of Depop and eBay is its aim to provide more of a boutique experience. The platform will stock 1,000 pieces over a four-week period, until the next batch is put on sale. As for the brands, drop number one will include mid-range contemporaries like Ganni and Réalisation Par, as well as vintage Gucci, Prada and Erdem. "For the influencers, we offer greater visibility, and for the customer, we give a clear edit of investment pieces for a fraction of their original price."
So how much can we expect to drop on a piece? "Discounts on items will be varied, depending on the level of wear," the founders explain, "however, everything will be less than RRP, and most things will be significantly less than RRP." Among the women whose wardrobes you can expect to shop are Camille Charrière, Lucy Williams, Pandora Sykes, Laura Jackson, Laura Fantacci, Shini Park, Lindsey Holland and Hedvig Opshaug, to name just a few. Hopefully, by the second drop there will be a more diverse list of insiders and influencers on The Resolution Store's roster but, Anna and Alicia say, "the website is expanding and we’re still gathering the final stock from our growing list of contributors, and will be right up to the launch date." In regards to sizing, the range so far goes from XS to L.
To get a head start on the shopping, subscribe to The Resolution Store's newsletter for a two-hour preview of the site, nabbing all the best pieces first. Race you to the checkout!