Second Life Markets founder Meg Charnaud on curating a vintage designer runway with eBay

A runway built around archival and pre-loved luxury.

For Meg Charnaud, secondhand fashion has never been the backup plan. As co-founder of Second Life Markets, she’s made a career out of championing the creativity, accessibility and thrill of pre-loved clothing. Now, she’s bringing that perspective to the runway with eBay. 

On October 8, Meg will present a selection of archival designer and true vintage pieces sourced from eBay at Melbourne’s historic Younghusband precinct. After the show, the runway moves into a shoppable livestream through eBay Live, giving guests the chance to shop pieces straight from the catwalk. In other words, it’s a fashion show that invites everyone to take part.

It’s also a chance to shake up the traditional fashion cycle. Collections are showcased at fashion weeks around the world – accompanied by pomp and circumstance that most of us can only indulge in from afar – before appearing in polished editorials and campaigns. After six months, pieces are ready to be purchased by those who can afford them, and within weeks, lookalikes and dupes materialise for the rest of us. Rinse and repeat. 

It’s an admittedly useful cycle, one that lets us avoid thinking too hard about what to wear. Diving into designer fashion can be daunting, and the status quo gives us guardrails to keep us from straying too far from current trends. But maybe the status quo deserves a challenge.

The eBay x Second Life Markets x Younghusband Pre-loved Runway explores what happens when secondhand receives the same sense of occasion usually reserved for new-season fashion. What would it mean to reframe vintage as the premium choice? Could it change our relationship to our clothes?

Premium pre-loved is for everyone

Unlike distant fashion houses that hire celebrity spokespeople and incinerate unsold stock, Meg never wanted Second Life Markets to feel exclusive. From the beginning, she’s been passionate about cultivating a healthy community in an industry with a lot of room for improvement. There’s no prerequisite knowledge of designers, labels or archival fashion – if you care about quality and sustainability, you belong to this community.

“One of the reasons that I really love the feeling that we created at Second Life is that people dress up to come to the markets. They feel like they can express themselves because they’re surrounded by people that love that and support that,” Meg says.

She’s applied that same philosophy to the upcoming runway.

“Because fashion can be very exclusive, my main focus for sourcing all these pieces from eBay was ensuring they’re all very wearable,” she says. “I want to encourage people to feel comfortable wearing their cool, fun things every day.”

Rest assured, ‘wearable’ doesn’t mean boring. Drawing on her design background and seven years of secondhand expertise, Meg has curated a runway collection that blends the ‘casual coolness’ of Australian style with the design language of premium brands like Roberto Cavalli, Marc Jacobs and Chanel. 

Sourced from around the world, Meg hints that the show will feature neutral wardrobe classics, complemented by an eclectic mix of luxury accessories, which are authenticated through eBay Authenticity Guarantee.

“If you’re confused about what your style is, it’s really nice to invest in a piece you can play around with a bit more,” Meg says. “With eBay Authenticity Guarantee, knowing an expert has inspected the piece before it reaches you is really valuable as a buyer, especially when you’re investing in a luxury piece.”

See it, like it, want it, buy it

There’s something fitting about Younghusband, a former wool store going on its second life as a community space, becoming home to a fashion show that breathes life into pre-loved clothes. For Meg, the precinct was the natural choice.

“We’ve been doing Second Life Markets at Younghusband for years, and we kind of saw it when it was still in its construction stage,” she says. “It’s just so nice to see these beautiful heritage buildings being properly restored and used.”

That theme of renewal will be felt throughout the evening. Vintage garments will arrive, become part of a runway look for the night, then, just like that, leave to begin another life in someone’s wardrobe.  

Meg tells me that many people mistakenly see shopping pre-loved and vintage as an extra step, like it’s a skill that’s either innate or too difficult to learn. “This runway is trying to show that there are events like Second Life Markets and platforms like eBay where it is really easy to find amazing things.” 

It’s perhaps never been easier. On October 15, anyone can tune in to eBay Live on the eBay app or visit ebay.com.au/ebaylive to bid on select pieces starting from $1, straight from the runway. Consider it your front row way of shopping pre-loved fashion.

Beyond a new piece, Meg hopes people leave the show with a new perspective on secondhand fashion, realising that it doesn’t have to be overwhelming or hard, but a fun way to connect with your community, yourself, and the clothes on your back.

“There’s so much that you get back from shopping vintage and pre-loved, even more so than shopping new,” Meg explains. “It’s a really personal connection between you, the clothes and the person selling. That’s what I like about eBay Live, too. You can hear from the seller and learn the story behind a really unique piece.”

Can’t wait til October 15 to shop the runway? Tune in now and shop pre-loved fashion here. 

eBay Authenticity Guarantee is not affiliated with or endorsed by any of the brands mentioned.