Reality show Love Island dumps fast fashion sponsor for Ebay

The islanders’ shared preloved wardrobe will be curated by celebrity stylist Amy Bannerman, whose clients include singer Dua Lipa, actress Sophie Turner, and hairdresser and television host Jonathan Van Ness. New research from Ebay reveals 20 per cent of UK consumers buy more secondhand clothing now than they did two years ago, and 16 per cent of their wardrobes are now secondhand. This skews to 22 per cent in the 18-34 age range, also Love Island’s target audience.

“It’s an unbelievably big step for the show to partner with Ebay,” says Staniland. “That will have a massive impact on reducing the stigma of secondhand clothing, especially since the fast fashion consumer overlaps so much with the Love Island viewer.”

According to Love Island, this year’s contestants will be encouraged to practise the “eat, sleep, rewear, repeat” mentality. Ebay has yet to reveal whether the Imperfects initiative it launched in April to sell new but flawed fashion will feature. Ebay will not be providing secondhand swimwear, but contestants will be encouraged to wear items they already own and style them with Ebay’s preloved edit. According to Ebay, the secondhand site’s top-selling and most sought after designer brands include Louis Vuitton, Gucci and Levi’s, followed closely by Mulberry, Stone Island and Chanel. The top ten high street brands are topped by Nike, Adidas, and Marks and Spencer.

This would be a prime opportunity to air conversations about sustainable fashion on the show and encourage contestants to repeat outfits, continues Staniland. “I would love to see more sustainably minded contestants on the show to take this progress further. Maybe the winner will become a brand ambassador for Ebay instead of Boohoo.”

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