Many people think of fashion as entertainment, but time has shown that it can also be an investment. Bags like Hermès Birkin with long waiting lists or individual items vintage they become increasingly valuable and are proof that this art has a guaranteed value. Therefore it is not surprising that fashion victims countries around the world with less purchasing power will take the opportunity to spend their savings on collections such as Paco Rabanne x H&M.

Collections from Swedish giant H&M, in collaboration with luxury brands, have brought catwalks closer to store windows over the years. The first was in 2004 with Karl Lagerfeld. as a guest designer, and the last was the Spaniard Paco Rabanne. It launched this Thursday and within minutes more than half of the clothing items were sold out. However, sales success is not what it seems.

Resell it to make a profit

That same day, clothing buying and selling platforms like Vinted began popping up, some of which the most iconic items in the collection. By comparison, Paco Rabanne’s fashion is most defined by metallic garments that resemble chain mail and are now museum pieces. Of course, those who fit this description were the first to disappear from the H&M website.

Shoulder bag with discs and metal sequins in gold and embossed color. It was sold on the H&M website for €179. (it was one of the cheapest items) and it is already sold out. But at Vinted you can find it at a price that goes from 350 euros to 500 (excluding delivery costs).

The same goes for the silver midi dress, which plays a starring role in the collection. It was listed on the website for 299 euros and is already sold out. You can find it on a well-known resale app or others like Depop. from 550 to 780 euros in different sizes.

Some advertisements even include photographs taken in H&M’s own fitting room, showing The idea was always to buy it to resell it and make a profit.. A way of investing that, for example, can usually be seen in the collections of sneakers of certain brands, but which does not respond to the same collecting behavior of archival specialists.

This is not a good long term investment.

According to a fashion expert like Valentina, curator of the fashion archive Third Culture Hoe, it’s worth spending money only on fashion collections. budget on one condition. “In my opinion, this is not a very good investment. unless you’re shopping for yourself or for these clothes to be used,” he explains. In his experience, some H&M collections have been overpriced, but this is not a common occurrence.

“The collaboration I know it resells very well and many people are still looking for things – this is Margiela x H&M, released in 2012, I saw this too The 2007 model with Roberto Cavalli sold quite well.”, he admits to us. For example, bodysuit the most iconic collection of 2012, worn by many celebrities, can now be found for about 50 euros. Only 15 euros more than it cost at that time. And despite the low price, it will still be there in a year unless its owner decides to remove the advertising.

The same goes for some Roberto Cavalli x H&M items. They can be find their dresses and jackets for around 20-30 euroswhen at that time there were about 200 of them.

“At the end of the day, these items, even though they are created in collaboration with major brands, are still items that They don’t have the same design or the same quality as these larger houses.“This is also clearly reflected in the price,” adds Valentina.

Most items bought to sell are still collecting dust because if you want to resell them for more money you can’t remove shortcuts or use it. “These are items that become highly desirable one minute and then move on to the next,” the expert warns.

Exclusivity or FOMO?

Having discovered that it’s not about investing, what makes someone spend hundreds of euros on an H&M collection? Expectation, FOMO (fear of missing out i.e. the fear of missing out) or the more capitalistic side of fashion is what drives these shoppers to stand in line for hours to buy an item in a store.

Then seeing the collection run out online prompts many to start reselling. It is this false sense of exclusivity that makes Lots of clothing stores vintage sell your clothes at gold prices. However, figures from past collections show that by waiting a few months, you can find clothes much cheaper.

The Mugler x H&M collection, released just eight months ago, already has some items available for less than their original price. Others like trousers with a characteristic translucent zone, still have high value. The same goes for Barbie x Zara, it was a real boom in sales, which also sold out in a matter of minutes. You can find them much cheaper on Vinted.in advertisements that were published even for months.