Ebay’s Style Director Amy Bannerman on Building a Career in Second-Hand Fashion
In today's fast-fashion culture, clothing is often seen as disposable, created for one life and then forgotten. In contrast, eBay’s Preloved Style Director Amy Bannerman believes that our wardrobes have a past, present, and future—and she has built a career spanning over 20 years on that belief. Having forged a distinctive path in fashion—beginning as an assistant at Elle, rising through the ranks as a Fashion Editor at InStyle, a freelance stylist and Fashion Director at Cosmopolitan. Now leading eBay’s second-hand renaissance—Amy has turned her passion for pre-owned into a powerful platform for change. Today, we delve into her impressive career path, discover what fuels her love of second-hand, and explore the launch of her new online concept store, Francine.
Hi Amy—could you introduce yourself to our readers and share a little about your role at eBay?
Hello! Thank you for having me, very happy to be here! I am Amy, I am a 44 year old single mum to my little son and we live by the sea in a beautiful house built in 1620 which is full of pre-loved, everything from my car, to the sofa and my son’s toys. Even the bath towels are pre-loved from Soho House! I am a stylist who specialises in pre-loved and have worked with second hand clothes my entire career.
You certainly have an impressive fashion CV, including stops at Elle and Cosmopolitan. Could you talk us through how you first got into the industry?
Thank you! It’s been a wild ride. I didn’t study fashion at university but did a module on feminism and fashion and that sparked a love of anything to do with clothes. My first job after university was as a style adviser, where I tried to get my customers to shop from the second hand concessions in the store. I then went on to get a loan from the Prince’s Trust and set up a vintage market stall in Spitalfields, I imported preloved from Canada and got up VERY early every Sunday. Running a market stall is seriously hard work! Then I assisted two stylists, Lucy McCullin who was at ELLE and Bay Garnet who is a trailblazer for preloved. I then worked at ELLE as a fashion assistant for 4 years and travelled the world with Anne-Marie Curtis, fun times. I left there to be a freelance stylist and did shoots for titles like Glamour and iD in that time. My next move was to InStyle as fashion editor where I continued to style preloved in to all my stories. From there I moved to be fashion director at Cosmopolitan, I styled an entirely pre-loved cover with Stacey Dooley and also did a fashion shoot at Oxfam’s HQ using entirely pre-loved. I took voluntary redundancy from Cosmopolitan during Covid and while on my maternity leave. Then eBay headhunted me to style Love Island which is categorically the best phone call I have ever received. My role has grown so much over the last 3 years and now my team and I work across multiple projects a day, anything from celebrity dressing to our Vogue partnership to hosting press events. Every day is different and every day is a joy!
"I am the pre-loved style director at eBay “the best job in fashion” according to Vogue. Unsurprisingly, I agree with them! I am launching my own pre-loved concept store, Francine, this month which is very exciting. There is currently nothing like it so I am very excited to show everyone what I’ve been working on."
When did you first discover second-hand shopping, and what sparked your passion for it?
My mum’s sister only wears preloved and she always had a super interesting mix of prints and styles and I loved how it looked. Always effortless, always cool. My brother Angus went to uni in Newcastle and came home with massive fake fur coats and bought suits and dyed them with Dylon to match his hair, he was wild and I loved it. So, hats off to Angus too. My style icon.
Where do you see the future of vintage and circular fashion heading?
The only way is up. eBay’s partnership with Love Island changed the fashion industry forever. I have noticed there is now a stigma about wearing fast fashion where this used to sit with pre-loved. That is everything I had ever hoped for and seeing fast fashion on the decline is the best possible outcome. We just need it to continue! I really hope we follow France with their anti-fast fashion bill.
What have been some of your favourite second-hand finds?
Oh my goodness, too many to mention but some favourites are:
My sofa – a Howard Keith 70s striped beauty I found on eBay for a total steal
My bed – a B&B Italia Charles bed in a beautiful oatmeal colour with rainbow flecks. It is a bed I had wanted for years and I got it for about a 9th of it’s RRP!
My new red Chloe Susanna boots – I had coveted them since Sienna wore them all those years ago. Patience pays. They were so cheap too!
My new Loewe shirt dress which I have wanted for about 5 years, it makes me feel very grown up and chic – neither of which I am..!
My dust blue Balenciaga City bag, I got this before they got popular again. I use it every day, the colour is a bit odd so it makes everything else look cooler.
AMY'S SECOND-HAND FAVOURITE FINDS
What guidance would you offer to those passionate about fashion and sustainability as they embark on their careers?
Just keep doing what you’re doing and believe in yourself. I always banged the pre-loved drum yet an agent told me there was no money in pre-loved, now it is the fastest growing area of the fashion industry!
We’re excited to hear about the upcoming launch of your online concept store, Francine. What can we expect from this new venture?
I am excited too! Francine is a pre-loved concept store focussing on curation and slowness. The brand champions an anti-trend mindset and encourages forging your own style. The first drop is 10 unique leather jackets painted by local artist Chiara Perano. I will do other leather jacket drops and then the brand will develop in to seasonless drops of curated shoots using my lifelong archive. I am also focussing on upcycling items to continue their lifestyle and create unique products.
