Circular Fashion Is Taking Over & It's Obvious

This week's All Things Fashion Tech Newsroom: AI-enhanced shopping from ChatGPT & Sketchers, plus secondhand's move to mainstream - endorsed by the queen herself, Alexa Chung.

Mary Korlin-Downs

May 05, 2025

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Newsroom Summary

ChatGPT launches new shopping features
eBay’s latest consumer trend data
Alexa Chung is selling her wardrobe on Vinted
Skechers’ AI shop assistant
Vinted quadruples profit in 2024 as revenue climbs to €813.4 million

ChatGPT launches new shopping features

By Lucy Maguire

There were one billion searches on ChatGPT last week. And now, the platform is launching updates to its shopping experience, to create “conversational shopping”, parent company OpenAI announced today. These shopping improvements are rolling out on 28 April to Plus, Pro, Free and logged-out users in every market where ChatGPT is available.

From now on, when ChatGPT users search for fashion, beauty, home goods or electronics, the platform will provide personalised recommendations, visual product details, pricing comparisons across retailers, and reviews, with direct links to buy from within the ChatGPT interface from merchant websites that stock the item. Unlike traditional search engines and social media, product results will be chosen by the artificial intelligence and are not ads, which could be a compelling selling point for users who are increasingly sceptical about online recommendations.

“We’re looking to bring a new kind of conversational shopping experience into ChatGPT,” says Matt Weaver, head of solutions engineering for the EMEA region at OpenAI. “For the last six months, search has been one of the most popular features on [the platform]. Shopping online can involve many open tabs and a long research journey, and we’re looking to simplify that by bringing it to one place.”

There are plans to expand the features to other categories once OpenAI has taken learnings from the initial launch.

Image may contain Accessories Bag Handbag and File

What eBay’s latest data tells us about the fashion consumer

In an industry grappling with overproduction, consumer fatigue, and calls for circularity, resale platforms are emerging not just as resale marketplaces—but as cultural barometers. eBay’s latest Watchlist report, drawn from the behaviours of its 134 million users and over 2.3 billion listings, provides a timely snapshot of what shoppers really want this spring. The findings reveal a subtle reshaping of consumer values: heritage brands, utility-focused fashion, and romantic maximalism are all trending—but crucially, through a pre-loved lens.

Pre-Loved moves mainstream

In 2024, nearly 40 percent of clothing, shoes, and accessories sold on eBay were classified as "pre-loved", a significant shift in consumer behaviour that suggests secondhand is no longer niche—it’s normative. The term “vintage” is now searched more than 1,200 times per minute globally on the platform, a frequency that should give pause to traditional retailers still hedging bets on new-season volume.

In the UK, Armani has emerged as the top-selling luxury label on the platform, while the Fendi Baguette and Omega x Swatch Moonswatch top the wishlist of discerning resale consumers. This appetite for luxury legacy—with a softened environmental impact—underscores a shift in how value is defined in fashion: rarity and provenance now rival "newness".

Alexis Hoopes, eBay’s VP of Global Fashion, sees the trend as part of a longer arc. “We envision a world where circularity is the norm,” she notes, “and we want to empower the entire circular fashion ecosystem.”

Several key aesthetic themes have emerged from the report, each carrying implications for retail buyers, merchandisers, and brand strategists.

Romantic bohemia, refined

Fringe bags +41 percent
Suede bags +58 percent
Chloé Paddington bag +628 percent

Tailoring as power play

Cinched blazer +209 percent
Prada work tote +220 percent
Miu Miu Regard glasses +204 percent

Function meets fashion

Barrel jeans +130 percent
Silk bandanas +52 percent
Dior Saddle bag +63 percent

Dreamlike hues and pastel play

Butter yellow +303 percent
Pistachio +70 percent
Pastel tops +112 percent

Alexa Chung is selling her wardrobe on Vinted

Alexa Chung, the model, presenter, and former fashion designer, is opening up her wardrobe to the public on Vinted.

Starting May 4, 2025, a curated collection of Chung’s personal clothing and accessories will be available for purchase exclusively on the second-hand marketplace.

Fashion fans can expect a diverse range of pieces, from contemporary designer labels to vintage treasures. The collection includes items from Prada, JW Anderson, Saint Laurent, and Gucci, among others, encompassing tops, bags, sunglasses, and shoes.

Adding a touch of historical flair, Chung is also parting with several vintage finds, including a 1930s coral silk dress previously seen on her at Paris Fashion Week.

All the sales proceeds from Chung’s wardrobe on Vinted will be donated to Endometriosis UK, as chosen by Chung.

Skechers’ AI shop assistant is friendly, chatty—and watching what you wear

By Don-Alvin Adegeest

The physical store is not dead, but it is being reprogrammed. Skechers, the U.S. footwear company known less for fashion cachet than for functional comfort, is attempting a digital leap forward with the launch of Luna—an AI-powered retail assistant installed at its new flagship in Singapore’s Punggol Coast Mall.

Described as a “personal stylist,” Luna uses a mix of speech-to-speech artificial intelligence and messaging integration to advise customers on what to buy, based on what they are wearing or browsing. Shoppers can interact with Luna via an in-store kiosk or continue the conversation later on Telegram—one of the more telling aspects of the rollout, signalling a shift in how brands hope to blur the boundaries between physical and digital commerce.

“As a comfort technology brand, harnessing new and innovative solutions to connect with our customers is part of our DNA,” said Irene Lee, senior general manager at Skechers Singapore. “With the opening of our new store in Punggol Digital District, it enhances customers' retail journey with a unique, social, and interactive experience with Luna.”

Developed by We Are Social Singapore, the initiative is more than just a gimmick tied to a store opening. It marks a growing retail interest in deploying AI agents not only as customer service tools but as data-gathering intermediaries—interfaces that can learn from shoppers’ preferences in real time and potentially reshape inventory, merchandising, and marketing strategies accordingly.

Vinted quadruples profit in 2024 as revenue climbs to €813.4 million

The Lithuanian leader in second-hand sales announced it generated €813.4 million in revenue in 2024. This 36% increase is especially notable for the 330% surge in net profit, which reached €76.7 million for the fiscal year, just one year after the company first became profitable.

In 2023, the company had posted €17.8 million in net profit. Since then, its adjusted EBITDA has grown from €76.6 million to €158.9 million. The group attributes this growth partly to the rollout of new product categories, including luxury goods and high-tech offerings.

Meanwhile, Vinted Go continued to grow its low-cost logistics service, supporting both its own sales volume and that of third-party brands. Currently available in France and the Benelux region, the service is scheduled to expand into Spain and Portugal in 2025.

For CEO Thomas Plantenga, the results reflect a “combination of scaling, innovation, and cost control,” he explained. “Given the market's potential size, we know there are huge opportunities ahead and a lot of work to do to capture them. We see our current position as a strong foundation to build that future, and we will continue to learn and improve. We are at the beginning of the journey and aiming high.”

The announcement also allowed Vinted to unveil Vinted Ventures, a new investment initiative to identify and support entrepreneurs and startups entering the “re-commerce” (second-hand online commerce) space and its value chain.

The company has hinted at the launch of new product categories in 2025. Vinted Marketplace CEO Adam Jay recently told FashionNetwork.com that the platform plans to broaden its offering while maintaining a core focus on apparel.

Currently active in 22 European countries, Vinted also announced plans to continue expanding geographically. France remained its largest market last year, followed by the United Kingdom, Germany, and Italy.

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