“Just think about it: next year, we’re going to pay out half a billion dollars to people.” Julie Wainwright, founder of the luxury resale company The RealReal, is discussing the benefits of the circular economy and why selling second-hand clothes is a good thing for everyone — even the most exclusive of brands. “We’re putting that back into the economy,” she continues. “That’s a lot of money. And [the brands] are slowly getting the fact that we’re actually helping them, because as soon as we remove things from your house, you’ve got physical space. And then we pay you your money. And it’s not like money that goes to someone’s education. It’s woohoo! Fashion budget!”

A tiny blonde dynamo in a short black dress, the 61-year-old entrepreneur is sitting on a velvet sofa just inside the doors of The RealReal’s New York store, which opened last year on Wooster Street in SoHo. The near-6,000 sq metre space, split over two storeys, sells previously owned Stella McCartney, Chanel and The Row (among dozens of other labels) for men and women. With a coffee bar in the basement and a gemologist ready to do on-the-spot valuations, business is brisk.

“Look at that,” Wainwright nods towards a couple of women browsing the “extra-small” rail. Each is carrying designer bags from stores along the same street: proof of Wainwright’s theory that the modern luxury client shops both full price and resale — a fact that many luxury houses still deny. Wainwright is delighted by her clients. Her bouncy optimism and folksy familiarity recall more of a Dolly Parton-type personality than the froideur one associates with fashion. But, she’ll be the first to tell you, she’s not really a fashion person at all.