Inside UAE's luxury resale boom: How secondhand buying is redefining fashion
Fresh arrivals include a blue Prada Saffiano Lux Boston bag listed at Dh 3,739 and a pair of yellow Prada crystal-embellished satin slides (size 37) for Dh 2,852 — both in near-pristine condition. For collectors on the higher end of fine jewellery, there's a pair of Tiffany & Co. platinum diamond drop earrings going for Dh 107,994. Every piece is authenticated in-house by experts — no outsourcing. That includes checking serial numbers, materials, and even hardware under magnification. It's a multi-step process backed by a lifetime authenticity guarantee, part of what has made the platform a go-to for serious resale buyers across the UAE.
These pieces don't just sit on shelves — they flood social feeds. TikTok is full of young Dubai-based shoppers obsessing over resale hauls, viral 'celebrity closet' drops, and flash pop-ups at Dubai Mall. The hype isn't limited to The Luxury Closet: Vestiaire Collective is building serious traction among regional shoppers with its digital-only model, and Grand Prestige Dubai — a favourite among tourists — regularly features rare Birkins and collectible timepieces. Among them: a Hermès Birkin 30 Matte Niloticus Blanc Himalaya, once listed for Dh616,000 and now sold out — a flex even by Dubai standards.
Globally, luxury isn't slowing down — it's just evolving. The 23rd edition of Bain & Company's Luxury Study released with Fondazione Altagamma, an Italian trade group representing fashion, jewellery, design, food, autos, and hospitality, estimates global luxury spending hit a record €1.48 trillion in 2024. But the real momentum is in resale. According to the Luxury in Transition report, the second-hand market reached €48 billion last year, outpacing the growth of new luxury for the first time. It's no longer just for vintage obsessives — brands like Gucci and Valentino now offer buy-back programmes and collaborate with resale platforms to meet shifting demand. Bain also notes that second-hand is increasingly a gateway to luxury for aspirational consumers. And that gateway is widening. The consultancy projects total luxury spend, which includes goods and experiences, will grow to €2–2.5 trillion by 2030.
The GCC is outpacing the global curve. Chalhoub Group's 2024 GCC Personal Luxury Report found the regional luxury market hit $12.8 billion last year, growing 6 per cent — despite a 2 per cent global dip. The UAE alone accounts for 56 per cent of that spend, fuelled by high local demand, tourism, and early digital adoption. Dubai remains the luxury capital of the region, fuelled by robust tourism. Since 2023, Dubai Mall has held the title of the most visited place on earth. The UAE ranks No. 1 across all luxury categories and saw growth across the board, according to Chalhoub Group.
Despite its clear dominance in the luxury market, there's no official resale figure for the UAE, a conservative estimate puts it around $341 million in 2025 — based on KD Market Insights' 2024 GCC resale valuation of $618.5 million. If the UAE maintains its 56 per cent luxury share and grows at 10 per cent annually, the math holds. Transparency Market Research expects the wider Middle East resale market to hit $3.5 billion by 2035. 'The luxury sector in our region continues to demonstrate resilience and adaptability despite global economic challenges,' said Mo Shadman, director of intelligence at Chalhoub Group. That momentum isn't just boosting new store openings; it's also giving resale room to thrive. As shoppers seek pieces with a story and rarity, the line between new and second-hand is starting to blur.
Nowhere is that shift more visible than among younger buyers. For Gen Z and millennials, luxury isn't just about logos — it's about meaning. A bag with history. A pair of shoes with a past. TikTok has turned resale into both a hunt and a status symbol, where every piece comes with backstory and bragging rights. It's not just about saving money — it's about buying smarter. There is a growing appetite for high-value purchases that feel personal, expressive, and emotionally resonant.
Sustainability is part of that story. In a recent campaign with Dubai-based resale platform Gemaee, crypto influencer Kamila Zakirova called fashion 'one of the most important places to give second chances'. That sentiment echoes a broader shift in consumer values: buy better, buy less, and keep things in circulation. If retailers produced one fewer item for every second-hand purchase, global apparel production could drop nearly eight per cent by 2027, according to a ThredUp report.
Few tap into the spirit of this resale renaissance better than Emily Abraham, the so-called 'Birkin Queen' and co-founder of Love Luxury. Operating between Dubai and London, Abraham and her husband, Adam, have built a high-trust resale brand driven by sharp authentication, blunt expertise, and viral social reach — with 3.8 million followers and more than 149 million likes on TikTok. In a pinned video filmed in Dubai, Abraham calmly appraises a client's Himalayan Salt Birkin with diamond hardware, quoting it at Dh1.6 million with the kind of quick authority that keeps viewers hooked. It's luxury with context, backed by proof — and exactly what today's second-hand shoppers are after.
'This next phase will be driven by rising consumer expectations, generational shifts, and a stronger desire for emotional connection, storytelling, and curated experiences,' said Shadman. That helps explain why minimalist, niche brands like Jil Sander and Maison Margiela — both of which recently opened flagships in Mall of the Emirates — are winning over younger shoppers. Their aesthetic is quiet, conceptual, and logo-light — a sharp contrast to legacy flash. For younger buyers, these labels — like resale — offer identity over status.
Changing shopper habits are also being reflected in how luxury is delivered — not just what's being sold, but how it's discovered.
As shoppers demand more curated, convenient shopping experiences, both resale platforms and brands are adapting. Denis Yurchenko, founder and CEO of AI and R&D Dubai-based company MTLAB, noted in his Q1 2025 retail outlook that challenges such as returns and real-time inventory are prompting brands to reassess how physical retail operates in the Gulf. His team's AI-powered system, DAVE, utilises virtual try-ons, in-store chatbots, and proximity-based offers to make luxury feel both personal and seamless — tools that could easily be extended to resale pop-ups. ' We are creating a new way to shop,' he said.
' You usually spend around two or three hours just to find your size, your colour, your budget, and guess if it fits or not, and so on,' Yurchenko said about MTLAB, which is set to launch in September. He explained, you can ask the AI chat for an outfit for a specific occasion, with your preferred colour and size and it will list you all relevant options. ' You can buy it in the chat. So, basically instead of two hours, you could buy it in less than one minute.'
Using virtual try-ons to improve sizing accuracy, Yurchenko says his team has managed to cut return rates in half — a big deal for an industry where fit issues drive most returns. But what really sets them apart is conversion. 'Usual conversion for the marketplace is around 3 per cent,' he said. 'Ours is 18 per cent… we don't just show you the product — we talk about it, create content around it,' he added. ' We make business a lot of businesses.'
Yurchenko, who tracks regional fashion trends, estimates the UAE's resale fashion market is now worth around $830 million — and growing at 20 per cent annually through 2025. Resale platforms and consignment boutiques are making high-end pieces more accessible to younger shoppers, while nudging the industry toward circular fashion. 'The new generation doesn't see reselling as shameful or reserved for big budgets anymore,' he said. 'Gen-Z and young millennials will control up to 60 per cent of all e-commerce shopping in two years. So you could call 60 per cent a niche, but I think it's a trend,' Yurchenko said.
That shift in generational buying power is happening alongside a broader economic tailwind. In Q4 2024, consumer confidence across the GCC surged — with 97 per cent of shoppers saying they planned to maintain or increase their spending, according to Chalhoub Group. Over 6,700 high-net-worth individuals moved to the UAE last year, drawn by safety, tax advantages, and economic stability. Russians remained the top luxury spenders, and online platforms like Ounass and Farfetch saw sales climb 13 per cent year-on-year — far outpacing the global average.
According to Chalhoub Group, the GCC's outlook remains bullish... beating the global average. And yet, in a city built on spectacle and the allure of the new, it's not the flashiest item turning heads — it's a slightly worn Birkin with a backstory. In quiet showrooms and endless scrolls, Gulf luxury is shifting — not just getting louder, but more layered.
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