How Macklemore Revolutionized The Fast Fashion Industry In North America: A Dissertation
The resale of reused clothing and the establishments that support the convention, commonly known as thrift stores, have a history in America dating back to the late nineteenth century. From a looked down upon practice rooted in necessity, to the booming culture of vintage resale it’s come to be, it’s fair to say the market has shifted and grown in ways nobody could have predicted. Well, almost nobody. In this essay I will examine the elevation of the resale of clothing over time and seek to link the industry’s current growth to one pivotal moment in 2012: the release of a revolutionary white boy rap song entitled “Thrift Shop”.
Seattle born musical artist Benjamin Hammond Haggerty, better known by his stage name “Macklemore”, and sexy-producer-side-piece-that-nobody-remembers Ryan Lewis, met on MySpace in 2006. In 2009 the pair made their musical duo official with their first EP The VS. EP, but it wasn’t until the release of their debut full length studio album The Heist in 2012 that they truly caught the public’s attention. The album was self-produced, self-recorded and self-released, and sold 78,000 copies within its first week. The duo became the first in history to have their first two singles peak at #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. At the 2014 Grammy’s the album accredited the duo with awards for both Best New Artist and Best Rap Album, not to mention awards achieved solely for the album’s most successful track.
The fourth single off of The Heist was “Thrift Shop”. The music video features Haggerty and Lewis prancing around a second hand clothing store with a variety of characters all in various attire from fur coats to footie pyjamas. The video is definitely random, as seemed to be the trend with so many one hit wonders of the time. Sandwiched between songs like “Sexy and I know it” (2011), and “Gangnam Style” (2013), it’s easy to identify the zeitgeist of the moment and pinpoint “Thrift Shop” as a more substantive work. “Thrift shop” wasn’t just a catchy bop that had middle schoolers everywhere pressing replay, it had some edge. It was promoting a way of life, stood as an anti-capitalist anthem vouching for originality and sustainability, all without the artists behind the song being linked to a major label, the most badass aspect of all. In fact the song was the first to reach #1 on the US Billboard Hot 100 without the support of a label since 1994 (Lisa Loeb’s “Stay”). “Thrift Shop” became number 1 in 17 countries and was awarded Best Rap Song and Best Rap Performance at the 2014 Grammy’s.
The subject of the song dates back in North American culture to the late 19th century when cities were growing rapidly due to a great influx of immigration. As populations grew, living spaces shrunk and people were giving away possessions due to a lack of storage. This also overlapped with a time after the industrial revolution when the mass-production of clothing was introduced. As clothing became cheaper, people began to view them as more disposable. While waste management systems improved, used clothing also began to be resold, but came with an attached stigma. Not only was buying pre-owned clothing a signifier of a lack of money, but many of the independents operating the carts off which garments were commonly being sold were Jewish immigrants who’s employment options were already limited in a culture of antisemitism.
Alas it wasn’t until Christian affiliated groups such as The Salvation Army and Goodwill took off that the resale of used clothing became legitimized. The Salvation Army launched in 1897 out of the basement of a men’s shelter. Residents would go around neighbourhoods collecting clothes for donation in exchange for food and lodging. Goodwill was founded in Boston in 1902 and operated on a similar model hiring both poor and disabled workers. The two companies continued to grow, booming during the Great Depression when demand overtook supply, and again during World War II. During the 1950’s consignment stores catering to a higher class clientele began to emerge specializing in discounted couture. Garage sales as we know them today also cropped up around this time.
When the song “Thrift Shop” was released it was only 2 years after the launch of Instagram, a social media platform that was still gaining momentum. Initially a purely photo sharing service, Instagram was different from other popular social medias at the time like Twitter (launched 2006) that was entirely text driven, and Facebook (launched 2004) that was more chat focused. Today Instagram has received much backlash for the effects on the mental health of its users, particularly related to the comparison of peers and celebrities alike, and the long term effects are still to be seen. At the time however a culture of needing to look good all the time was still bubbling. With pressure amongst teens with a limited budget to be presentable for their online presence, thrifting offered a lower cost option for obtaining the latest styles. Vintage clothes shopping quickly became not only a common pastime for youth but was soon a way for young people to turn a profit. Clothing exchanges were set up through social media for those within mutual communities and eventually online accounts devoted solely towards the resale of clothing have become a dime a dozen. Even apps such as Depop who describes itself as “a peer-to-peer social e-commerce company”, 90% of whom’s users it should be noted are below the age of 26, emerged. The entrepreneurial spirit behind young people sourcing and merchandising garments is reminiscent of how the industry itself began.
Of course just like the humble beginnings of resold clothing, it was bound to evolve in to something else. In past luxury brands have been removed from consignment and resale, for fear of counterfeit goods or losing a portion of their market share. There was also added hesitancy about wether wealthier customers would even be interested in pre owned wears. As of 2020 the resale market was valued at 28 Billion dollars, with projections of growth to 64 Billion by 2025. With these figures alone it’s not surprising that larger brands have begun taking a page from the young vintage clothing reselling girlies.
On October 5th 2020 Gucci announced a partnership with The Real Real, a leading online platform for authenticated luxury items, where merchandise for resale will be brought in directly by the brand to a special E-Shop. Julie Wainright, founder and CEO of The Real Real has described the partnership as being rooted in sustainability, which they claim to be one of the site’s founding principles. Gucci has also promised that for every sale of a consigned good a tree will be planted. Under examination of the partnership Emily Farra, senior fashion news writer at Vogue.com, proposes that “True Circularity” is the next step for brands where items would be taken back directly once customers were done with them and either be recycled, up-cycled, or resold by the brand themselves. In the meantime consignment sites like The Real Real were serving as the middle man of sorts.
Mere days after the Gucci partnership was announced Ms. Farra’s proposal seemed to become a reality when denim retailer Levi’s launched their site “www.secondhand.levi.com” that solely lists used jeans for sale. The home page of the site will greet you with a fresh faced Hailey Bieber and a statement that invites you to “Join us in a more sustainable future”.
It’s been a tough year for a lot of brands. Fashion spending dropped by 79% in April 2020 near the beginning of the pandemic, excluding loungewear which continued to grow. Drops in spendings had brands cancelling orders from factories which had ripple effects in the deeply flawed system such as the garment worker crisis in Bangladesh where 4 million people became suddenly unemployed. By the fall of 2020 second-hand related keywords inputted in to search engines skyrocketed by 104%.
While most brands have cited “environmental impact” and “sustainability” as the driving force behind their recent adaptations, it’s important we question their actual practices and hold the companies we support accountable. Since thrift reselling boomed, even on an independent level amongst youth, accessibility to lower priced items has taken a hit. Lower income families have found it increasingly difficult to find quality garments since middle and upper class individuals have been buying up far more than they need with intentions to resell for an inflated price. Trends amongst teen girls such as buying children’s clothing to wear as “baby crop tops” has inadvertently put strain on some of the most vulnerable populations.
In our society it’s become hard not to give up faith on anything pure not becoming commercialized. In February 2021 Macklemore, the king of thrift himself, launched his own clothing brand Bogey Boys. The brand describes itself as a “Golf & Lifestyle Brand” creating vintage inspired gear for a sport often affiliated with the white upperclass. On the site you’ll find everything from ball covers to clothing, polos that will set you back $80 USD that will have you mentally singing to yourself “That’s 50 dollars for a t-shirt!”
“Thrift Shop” was released amidst the perfect storm of factors, social medias were on the rise, our environment was suffering more than ever, a virtual generation was seeking some authenticity that could only be found by looking to times past, and sweet (what’s his name again?) Ryan Lewis created one hell of a beat. As granddads clothes everywhere are being bought up from thrift stores down the road, I fear that popping tags is becoming a thing of the past. When all there is left to buy is luxury loungewear I’ll play “Thrift Shop” for my children, and my children’s children, and reminisce about days of my youth when I would go to the thrift shop with only twenty dollars in my pocket.