Vestiaire Collective's Runway Muses Are as Pre-Loved as Its Merch

Vestiaire Collective is back! Well, it’s never gone away, but the B-Corp certified brand, which enables people to sell high-quality secondhand goods online, has rightfully observed that now’s its time to shine.

And it’s enlisted Droga5 London for the reintroduction.

Under the tagline “Long Live Fashion,” 13-year-old Vestiaire Collective reminds us it’s been about circular fashion since before it was cool. The ad depicts a runway show for its “pre-loved collection,” where even the models are “pre-loved.”

This is such a weird spot. But it’s also hard to write off because we’ve been conditioned to cherish anything that remotely resembles a Muppet.

The “pre-loved” runway models are puppets composed of secondhand clothing. Their names—Miss Classique, Rich (imaginative…?), Lady Green, Drops and Hunter—also describe their secondhand shopping style: luxury fashion lovers, secondhand market sharks, sustainability shoppers, limited-release junkies, and vintage hounds. This is a cute way of shouting out the “style tribes” who fuel the universe of circular fashion.

The voiceover, with its clipped, made-for-TV French accent, is fashion commentator and journalist Loïc Prigent, most famous (in our minds) for writing our favorite book of stuff overheard at Fashion Week. If you think the audience reactions in this work are a little silly and cartoony, Prigent’s sardonic (but loving!) bare-all writing will confirm that, yeah, sometimes that’s what fashion people are like. He also makes a cameo in the ad.

“Our pre-loved campaign […] gave us such a rich platform to build a bold marketing program around, allowing us to showcase our fashion and sustainability credentials in the most talkable way, while also speaking to each member of our growing community and the reasons they choose to shop on the Vestiaire Collective platform,” said Vanessa Masliah, VP of marketing and branding at Vestiaire Collective. 

“Long Live Fashion” was directed by Andreas Nilsson. It represents the first major campaign by Droga5 London for the brand since it won its business in 2021. The ad will air on national TV in France and Italy, and on branded social channels in the U.S., U.K., Spain and Hong Kong. Print and out-of-home support was shot by British-Ghanaian photographer Campbell Addy.

“Our pre-loved campaign was inspired by Vestiaire Collective’s purpose-led business, a company that prioritizes circularity and resells high-end fashion,” adds David Kolbusz, chief creative officer of Droga5 London. “Who better to give voice to the brand than the clothes they sell, fashioned into puppets?”

CREDITS

Client: Vestiaire Collective 
VP, Marketing and Branding – Vanessa Masliah 
Head of Brand – Raphaël Bittner 
Creative Director – Valentin Lefevre 

Agency: Droga5 London
Chief Creative Officer – David Kolbusz 
Executive Creative Director – Shelley Smoler 
Creatives – Ashley Hamilton, Sarah Sutherland 
Head of Production – Peter Montgomery 
Producer – Jessie Gammell 
Art Buyer – Katerina Gharraph 
Assistant Producer – Manon Rees 
Design Director – Stephanie McArdle 
Senior Designer – Stephen Taylor, Alasdair Griffiths
Head of Studio – Tim Larke 
Head of Strategy – Damien Le Castrec 
Strategy Director – Francesca Zedde 
Joint Managing Director – Rebecca Lewis 
Senior Account Manager – Matt Brown 

Film Credits 
Puppet Makers – Puppets Magic 
Production Company – Biscuit Filmworks 
Director – Andreas Nilsson 
Executive Producer – Rupert Reynolds-MacLean 
Producer – Kwok Yau 
Cinematographer – Thomas Hardmeierr 
Production Designer – Alexis Ross 
Stylist – Sam Ranger 
Editing Company – The Quarry 
Editor – Ben Jones 
Post Company – Electric Theatre Company 
VFX Lead – Iain Murray 
Colourist – Hannibal Lang – BaconX
Sound Company – 750MPH 
Sound Designer – Sam Ashwell, Michalis Anthis 
Music Composer – Murphy / Howard 
Vocalist – Elisabeth Troy 
Music Writers – David Kolbusz, Ash Hamilton, Sara Sutherland, Michalis Anthis Music Supervisor – Soho Music 

Stills Credits 
Photographer – Campbell Addy 
Production Company – CLM 
Executive Producer – Thu Nguyen 
Producer – Cai Lunn, Teodora Budimir 
Talent – Goi Manase, Jess Maybury, Dahan Phuong Oanh 
Stylist – Sam Ranger 
Set Design – Afra Zamara 
Casting – Mischa Notcutt 
Hair – Virginie Moreira 
Makeup – Ammy Drammey 
Puppet Makers – Puppets Magic 
Puppeteers – Kim Scopes, Douglas Rutter