Why aren't closet sales popular in Italy? Brief history of gatekeeping in vintage fashion and the hegemony of Italian flea markets

London, 2019. The gray clouds covering the rooftops of Shoreditch. One of the rooms of the local market filled with racks of Pixie Geldof’s clothes being sold at bargain prices. Near the register, all the organizer’s best friends, including Alexa Chung in skinny jeans and a biker jacket. «Is that Simone?», she asks the author of this article while approaching the it-girl dressed in a Simone Rocha tartan suit. «Yes, it’s lovely», was the only thing the writer managed to say at that moment. In those years, while in London the trend of closet sales, sample sales and vintage (all things that had already been successful in the English-speaking world, but that since 2019 have experienced an unprecedented boom) was spreading, Italy was just beginning to embrace the idea of buying second-hand as a sustainable and creative alternative to traditional shopping. «But doesn’t it bother you to wear things other people have worn?», was the question most often heard when, back home, people showed the treasures they had bought at London’s kilo sales. Just like the passion for second-hand fashion, apart from a few exceptions, closet sales and car boot sales are still struggling to take root in Italy, where flea markets continue to reign supreme and untouched.

The rise of second-hand in Europe was fast and unstoppable with the arrival of Vinted. In 2020, just as Depop was unsuccessfully trying to win over the U.S. and U.K. markets, the Lithuanian start-up was preparing to dominate Europe. In 2022, with the launch of personal archives by brands like Gucci and Jean Paul Gaultier and the arrival of historic garments on the red carpet, nss wrote that archival fashion had officially become mainstream; the following year, in Milan, came the event All You Can Wear (a basket of used clothes for €18); finally, in 2024, market studies announced that second-hand was growing three times faster than “normal” clothing. In just four years, Vinted’s market value reached €5 billion, thanks also to the launch of a verification service for luxury items.

Alongside Vinted’s success, in major Italian cities and other European hotspots we’ve witnessed the fetishization of the vintage market, a phenomenon that paradoxically begins in real life but takes shape online through influencers and content creators documenting their outings. Due to its popularity and iconic status, today going to the market has two identities: on social media, it’s normal to see people sharing their favorite spots, while in real life, at least in Milan and Rome, gatekeeping prevails. A bit like summer holidays in hidden corners of Italy, endlessly posted but never geotagged.

In short, second-hand shopping in Italy follows very specific rules, in a universe where the weekend market is the Sun, Vinted the Moon, and actual stores the planets orbiting around them. And when the latter decide to collaborate, for example for an organized vintage market, it’s never just any event, but a real open-air party, with spaces not only for shopping but also for having fun. In Milan, the organization of East Market, Remira Market and Il Mercatino del Principe di Akeem is five-star: live DJ sets, jazz bands, workshops, bars and venues enliven entire days.

While in Italy we’re seeing the rise of mega-events for vintage and antiques, overseas, where second-hand clothing culture was born, more authentic events endure, such as American car boot sales and closet sales by stars, influencers, Substack writers, designers, and content creators—the 2023 Chloë Sevigny sale in New York remains unforgettable, dubbed online the «Sale of the Century» thanks to the actress’s unique style. In London, at the last Men’s Fashion Week SS26, Martine Rose paid tribute to second-hand culture at Lisson Grove’s Job Centre, where she held her show, setting up an open market for the public throughout the weekend.

Although second-hand fashion has now reached Italy and the rest of Europe, there’s still a bit of a lack of “intimate” sales, like those in London and New York. «I’m constantly in awe of what people wear to these events», commented the founder of Second Life Markets in an interview with The Face. «It’s nice to have a place where you can come, meet likeminded people, and form good relationships based on their style». In the article, Lauren Cochrane explains that after sample sales where you spend hours in line to find a couple of pieces, and digital drops protected by exclusive passwords, personal markets where people meet in person and share a passion for shopping have returned. Something that, in Italy, because of the aforementioned gatekeeping, is somewhat being lost.

As BoF states, closet sales in 2025 are so successful because consumers need «curation, uniqueness, and personality», as shown by the popularity of journalist Liana Satenstein’s Neverworns, the latest of which was held this July in New York. Beyond affordable designer clothes, what truly makes these events special seems to be the sense of intimacy and participation: it’s easy to find a rare bag on Vinted, it’s rare to find one that has passed through the hands of a ’90s it-girl or an editor known in the right fashion circles. Moreover, these closet sales bring together not only vintage and second-hand enthusiasts, but above all fans of the organizers themselves, turning the experience into a kind of meet and greet. So, what are Italian it-girls waiting for to open their closets to the public?