From Startup to a Global Leader in Luxury Resale
On 24 June, Ferrari Fashion School welcomed Stephanie Crespin, Founder & CEO of Reflaunt, for a guest lecture online with students from the Master of Arts in Fashion Design and Creative Direction and the Master of Arts in Fashion and Luxury Management.
A French-Belgian entrepreneur and one of the leading innovators in circular fashion, Stephanie Crespin shared her entrepreneurial journey, offering students an insider’s perspective on how the luxury resale market is reshaping the strategies of international fashion brands.
Her journey began more than a decade ago in Singapore with Style Tribute, one of the very first luxury second-hand platforms in Southeast Asia. From that initial venture emerged an entrepreneurial path driven by continuous experimentation, business model evolution, and the ability to anticipate changing market dynamics, ultimately leading to the launch of Reflaunt in 2019.
Today, Reflaunt is one of the world’s leading Resale-as-a-Service providers, partnering with international brands and retailers including Balenciaga, Harvey Nichols, Perfect Moment and Level Shoes to integrate resale directly into the brand and retail experience. Its mission goes beyond facilitating the resale of pre-owned luxury goods: it enables fashion houses to retain ownership of the customer relationship long after the initial purchase, transforming the secondary market into a natural extension of the luxury customer experience.
Why Resale Is Transforming the Fashion and Luxury Industry
During the lecture, Crespin explained how resale has become one of the fashion and luxury industry’s most significant growth opportunities. Today, the global fashion resale market is worth approximately US$210–220 billion and is expected to reach US$320–360 billion by 2030, growing at around 10% annually, roughly three times faster than the traditional fashion market. While many brands viewed the second-hand market with caution only a few years ago, the challenge today is to embrace and manage it directly by offering customers a premium, trusted service aligned with the standards of the maison. At the same time, one of the industry’s most compelling strategic questions remains: how can brands expand their pre-owned business without cannibalising the sale of new collections? Addressing this challenge requires new business models and a more holistic vision of the product lifecycle.
Innovation Through Trial and Error
One of the aspects students found most inspiring was Crespin’s account of Reflaunt’s evolution through a continuous process of trial and error. She demonstrated that innovation is driven by listening to the market, testing new ideas and constantly refining a company’s value proposition in response to changing customer needs.
Folio: The Future of Luxury Resale for Personal Stylists
A recent example is the launch of Folio, Reflaunt’s newest service developed for personal stylists and private client advisors managing the wardrobes of high-profile clients. The platform enables professionals to oversee the resale process through a single digital infrastructure, allowing stylists to manage the entire lifecycle of their clients’ wardrobes while transforming resale into a premium service seamlessly integrated into luxury wardrobe consultancy. This latest innovation reflects the changing expectations of high-net-worth consumers, who increasingly seek a comprehensive and professional approach to managing their fashion assets.
Preparing the Next Generation of Fashion Industry Professionals
The guest lecture offered students the opportunity to engage with one of the entrepreneurs redefining the relationship between technological innovation, sustainability and luxury business. Understanding how the resale market is transforming the fashion value chain means preparing future professionals not only to design products, but also to develop new services, new customer experiences and new ways for brands to build lasting relationships with their consumers.
