Y2K, Bootcut Jeans and Live Selling Drive Resale Boom As Secondhand Becomes Serious Fashion Business

Fleek’s new State of Resale Report reveals soaring searches for Y2K brands, rising demand for denim and going-out pieces, and a growing professional reseller economy – giving fashion brands new opportunities to build resale into their business models.

Y2K fashion is back, bootcut jeans are booming and resale is rapidly moving from side hustle to serious business. That is the message from the inaugural Fleek State of Resale Report, which analyses millions of search, sales and product-view signals alongside responses from 339 resellers across 22 countries to identify the brands, products and platforms shaping the resale market for AW26.

For fashion businesses, the data offers more than a snapshot of secondhand demand. It provides a useful window into the products consumers are actively searching for – and highlights how resale is developing into an increasingly important part of the wider fashion spectrum.

Y2K searches surge

The strongest trend signal is nostalgia. Searches for American Eagle have jumped 1,588% year on year, while Hollister is up 1,172%, Aéropostale 1,150%, Bebe 1,106% and Abercrombie 899%. Other Y2K-associated brands are also seeing substantial increases, with Victoria’s Secret searches up 892%, PINK 632% and Diesel 516%.

The resurgence is already influencing reseller behaviour. Almost half – 49% – of resellers now specialise in Y2K and early-2000s fashion, rising to 60% among 18-to-25-year-olds.

For brands, the figures demonstrate how resale platforms can act as a real-time source of fashion trend intelligence. Search activity can identify renewed consumer interest in brands, categories and aesthetics that may not yet be reflected in mainstream retail sales.

Bootcut jeans replace pandemic comfort dressing

The move away from pandemic-era loungewear is another clear theme. While sweaters remain the most in-demand product category, with a heat score of 100 and demand up 68% year on year, the fastest-moving products include some distinctly more fashion-led pieces.

Bootcut jeans are up 277% year on year, while basic camisoles have risen 193%. Nylon shorts are up 483%, mixed jeans 40% and active leggings 28%. The shift suggests that the familiar “jeans and a nice top” formula is returning, with consumers once again looking towards denim and going-out pieces.

At the same time, demand for some pandemic staples is weakening. Printed T-shirts are down 27%, while polo shirts are down 5%.

Which fashion brands are winning in resale?

Ralph Lauren remains the most in-demand brand on Fleek, with a heat score of 100, followed by Nike, Carhartt and Lululemon. However, some of the most interesting data comes from brands experiencing the fastest growth. Coach demand has increased 161% year on year, Adidas is up 141%, Lacoste 92% and Lululemon 74%.

Not every established resale favourite is continuing to grow. Carhartt demand has fallen 44%, according to Fleek, while Burberry is also cooling.

For fashion companies, this underlines the importance of looking beyond brand reputation and monitoring what consumers are actually searching for and buying in the secondary market.

Resale as a career

The resale industry itself is undergoing an equally significant transformation. Fleek found that 28% of resellers are already working full time, while another 33% are actively working towards making resale their career.

Experience is an important factor. Just 14% of those selling for less than six months are full time, compared with 53% of those who have been reselling for more than five years.

The professionalisation of resale is also changing how sellers operate. Resellers now sell across an average of 2.8 platforms, spreading their businesses across multiple channels.

Vinted remains the economic powerhouse, with 65% of respondents saying it generates the most money for them. But the dependence on individual platforms also creates risk: 29% of resellers report having had an account suspended, banned or restricted.

Live selling becomes a serious sales channel

Live commerce is emerging as another defining feature of professional resale. Almost half – 45% – of full-time resellers sell live, compared with 20% of those operating resale as a side hustle. Crucially, 79% of regular live sellers say the format outperforms traditional static listings.

The development has implications beyond the resale market. Platforms including eBay, Whatnot and TikTok Shop are increasingly incorporating live commerce, creating new ways for fashion products to be demonstrated, discussed and sold in real time.

For professional resellers, it can also address one of the biggest operational headaches: listing individual items. One-third of respondents say photographing and listing products is the hardest part of the job.

The opportunity for brands: build resale into the business

The biggest challenge facing professional resellers may now be finding enough stock. Sixty-four per cent still rely on charity and thrift shops, while 30% identify sourcing as one of their biggest frustrations. Almost four in ten are looking for new stock at least weekly.

At the same time, 44% want access to liquidation and deadstock but have not yet been able to source it. This could create a significant opportunity for fashion brands. Rather than treating resale simply as a consumer-to-consumer marketplace, brands could increasingly consider resale, deadstock, returns, excess inventory and archive product as part of a broader circular business strategy.

The changing regulatory landscape could accelerate this opportunity. New EU rules restricting large fashion companies from destroying unsold clothing could potentially push more excess inventory towards secondary markets.

For brands, the question is therefore shifting from whether resale matters to how resale can be incorporated into the wider fashion business model.

That could mean partnerships with resale platforms, controlled liquidation channels, branded secondhand programmes, archive sales or providing professional resellers with structured access to excess inventory.

Resale becomes fashion intelligence

Fleek’s A/W 2026 data ultimately points to a resale market that is becoming more sophisticated, professional and commercially significant. The headline trends – Y2K fashion, bootcut jeans, camisoles, rising Coach and Adidas demand, and the growth of live selling – offer an immediate view of what consumers are searching for. But perhaps the bigger story for the fashion industry is the infrastructure developing behind those trends.

Resellers are becoming professional retailers. Live selling is becoming an established sales channel. Multiple-platform selling is becoming standard practice. And the demand for reliable inventory is creating potential new relationships between brands and the secondary market.

For fashion businesses, resale is increasingly not a market sitting outside the traditional industry. It is becoming another source of consumer insight, product demand, inventory management and revenue and one that could play an increasingly important role in shaping the fashion business of the future.

Images and information courtesy of Fleek