On June 25, 2024 the Display Copy collective made its online debut featuring eighteen expert vintage curators and upcycling designers. With a mission to create an edited, luxury-forward collection amidst an over-saturated contemporary resell market, the Display Copy marketplace bids farewell to the days of endless digging and makes key industry players shoppable on the same site. 

The core collective features West Coast experts like Blossom Vintage, Carny Couture, DENIMCRATIC, Hall of Wonders, Kimberly Corday, and Ludlow Shop. Midwest taste-makers Coup De Grâce and Goodshop Badshop, along with East Coast icons 258pm Salon, Amarcord, B Sides Jeans, Berriez, Chickee's Vintage, The MoonStoned, Na Nin Vintage, NMB New York, Treasures of New York, and Tyranny + Mutation.

“It was honestly very selfish,” Brynn Heminway, the Founder and Editor-in-Chief of Display Copy said, when asked what her inspiration was for developing the collective. “I wanted to create a space where I could shop all of my favorite curators in one place."

Since the magazine’s inception, Display Copy has championed cutting-edge fashion and top-level design without featuring a single “new” item of clothing. In this vein, the newly launched marketplace functions as a natural progression in Display Copy’s ethos; disrupting how fashion is both perceived and consumed. Each curator that Heminway has hand-selected ranges in aesthetic, price, and niche, resulting in a myriad of unique pieces that showcase the limitless potential of second-hand retail.

According to the latest annual ThredUp Resale Report, two in five apparel purchases made in 2023 were second-hand. Everywhere we look—vintage, thrift, and upcycled fashion is trending—from this year’s Met Gala “Sleeping Beauties: Reawakening Fashion” red carpet looks to #thrifthaul trending on TikTok. Celebritities, stylists, and influencers are increasingly turning to vintage archives and upcycling designers to find one-of-a-kind pieces that resonate with their personal style and stand out amidst mass-produced collections. We can all celebrate the fact that second-hand shopping has officially been de-stigmatized and as a result there are exponentially more resellers on the scene. 

It’s no secret that shopping vintage is one of the most economical ways to acquire pieces crafted with exceptional skill. But, knowing where to start looking for that perfect piece can be daunting. Often, the process requires research, endless scrolling, reverse image searches, an array of browser tabs, and bidding wars. The Display Copy marketplace takes “the hunt” out of the thrill of vintage shopping by allowing industry experts to be found in a single search. Imagine a 24/7/365 flea market that features a highly curated selection of coveted designer pieces, luxury handbags, upcycled statement pieces, edited thrift, and antique fine jewelry. 

Each curator in the collective is a professional in their respective field; having fine-tuned their craft by building an established brand and a loyal customer following. “Now that I’ve created a name for myself,” said Jamie Lee, the founder of Blossom Vintage [who specializes in curating a premium selection of vintage bridal], “I get emails from people who are ready to pass down their family heirlooms. It’s a very sacred process.” 

Treasures of NY, another Display Copy curator, co-founded by Robert Bird and Brit Blanco-Bird, is known for their cheeky social-media content that mixes downtown grime with designer vintage. “We came and said, here’s a photo of a Chanel Flap bag filled with cigarettes sitting on top of a trash bag,” Blanco-Bird recalled. “People were appalled! Like, ‘Oh my god, you’re discervicing the brand!’ We get it. But, if that’s how I’m going to save up my money and carry my Chanel, it is what it is. Get over it.”

Emma Zack, the founder of Berriez—Brooklyn’s hottest plus-size vintage and upcycled design showroom—is a true trail-blazer who has elevated plus-size fashion with both thoughtful merchandising and collaborations with upcycling designers across the globe. When it comes down to the core of her brand, Zack remarked, “I’m just really proud of the community that I’ve built. Once you know about Berriez, you can't forget it. You love it.”  

As a rejection of planned obsolescence and fleeting trends, the collective advocates for timeless investments that feel authentic to one’s personal style. “This concept of super cheap clothing is relatively new,” Lilly Alexander, the founder of Goodshop Badshop said. “To me, it feels very human to act on the level of circular fashion [...] clothing gets passed down, re-worked, un-done, and re-made.” 

It’s evident that the fashion industry has entered a new era of sustainability politics. The term “sustainable fashion” no longer indicates a commitment to humane labor practices, garment waste-reduction, or carbon-footprint consideration. Instead, fast-fashion corporations have turned “sustainability” into a buzz-word to remain relevant amidst an increasingly climate-conscious consumer market. 

But, what does it actually mean for fashion to be sustainable? 

“I have some ego around that conversation,” Elizabeth Potts, founder of The Moonstoned says, “as a retailer it’s so easy to jump on the “sustainability” bandwagon. But it’s just not reality […] and if consumers understand that, then they can say, ‘Okay, I want to buy responsibly.’” Responsible Fashion, a term expertly defined by The NY Times Fashion Director, Vanessa Friedman, indicates “a world in which all players, from the consumer to the C.E.O. [...] take responsibility for their part in the supply chain.” So, in order for consumers to purchase responsibly—understanding the production of a garment to then consider one’s purchasing power—there needs to be honest top-down education from the supplier. 

Shopping vintage, upcycled, and thrift is the obvious alternative to boycotting the fast-fashion phenomenon. “I think what the customer really needs right now is full-transparency,” Gabriella Meyers, the designer and C.E.O. of DENIMCRATIC offered. Each year alone, the fashion industry produces over 82 billion kilos of garment waste that is either burned or sent to landfills. Upcycling and resale can provide an alternative narrative to this story. “It’s first and foremost a way to minimize my footprint,” upcycling couture designer Kimberly Corday said. “But, it’s also an antidote to the anxiety I get when staring at bolts of new fabric [...] it’s almost like oldfangled fabrics speak to me and show me what they want to be this time around.” 

There is no clean-cut instruction manual to follow when it comes to the intersection of our earth’s climate-crisis and the fashion industry. However, as individuals we do have the power to shop more responsibly. “Overall, I would like to see people buy fewer and better things,” Brooke Bailey, the co-founder of Santa Monica’s Carny Couture declared. By nurturing a relationship to the clothing we wear and investing in the longevity of beloved garments, more sustainable ways of dressing may not be as far off as we think. 

The new Display Copy collective features a growing list of collaborators whose curatorial expertise seeks to imagine a brighter future for the fashion industry. “My hope is that vintage and upcycled garments become the new luxury, thrift becomes the new streetwear and garments made from recycled fibers become the new fast fashion,” Heminway said. Shop the collection now at displaycopy.com.