The second-hand luxury goods market has been running ahead of the overall luxury goods market for at least five years. The Financial Times reports that only this month Jean Paul Gaultier has launched a vintage selection on its website, while Valentino has announced that customers can now return their garments to selected boutiques that will begin selling authenticated pieces under the new Valentino Vintage label.

Katie Holmes has been running her website www.prelovedmonaco.com and the brick and mortar shop Queen Bee just above Place de la Crémaillère for the past six years.

Is the demand for pre-loved clothing soaring in Monaco?

Katie: Unfortunately not, I was expecting a higher input of sales since Covid in March 2020, thinking that in general people would be drawn to buy second hand in a chance to help the planet, but I haven’t seen a huge surge in buying second hand goods as of yet.

Describe www.prelovedmonaco.com. Who is your main customer and what are the most wanted brands?

Katie: The Queen Bee and its website Preloved Monaco make up an eclectic boutique of luxury second hand clothing and accessories at very affordable prices. We try to differentiate ourselves by having brands that are interesting, colourful and different, and not always necessarily designer, even though they generally sell faster.

Brands such as Gucci, Hermes, Prada, Louis Vuitton and Valentino are noticeably more favoured. Our customers come from all walks of life, and there is a large circle of people dropping off their unwanted gifts or purchases to be repurchased and preloved by someone new. We love the fact that someone’s unwanted items can bring such pleasure to someone else.

Who is authenticating your stock?

I authenticate all the stock, and yes we do offer certificates if required to authenticate any designer handbags.

What other services do you offer?

Katie: The Queen Bee offers wardrobe management and maintenance, personal styling, personal shopping and preparation for weddings and special events.

And when is the next party?

Katie: The Queen Bee will be hosting a Christmas sale of Vintage Rocks jewellery, on Tuesday, December 7, from 10:00 to 20:00, with festive drinks from 18:00 onwards.  Vintage Rocks will be offering unique vintage costume jewellery from the 1940s to the 1990s as the perfect Christmas gifts for friends and family at very affordable prices.

© NEWS sarl. Words and images on this site and in our daily newsletter Good Morning Monaco are protected by the Universal Copyright Convention unless otherwise indicated and must not be re-used, rewritten or re-published in whole or in part without the written consent of NEWS sarl, a Monaco company.