Inside The Most Edited Wardrobe In Fashion

Fanny Moizant - the founder of designer resale site  Vestiaire Collective - makes it her business to encourage women to sell their past designer purchases (well-loved or never even worn) on to a new home: but does she practice what she preaches?

"My wardrobe is very, very small," Moizant laughed. "Certainly very small for someone who works in fashion! At the beginning of a new season, so like now, I will shop and shop, because I know that in a couple of months I will sell those pieces. I have certain labels that I love, and I want to get new pieces when I see them, but then I move on to a new obsession."

To describe someone's style as "typically French" feels like lazy journalism, but in the case of Moizant it really couldn't be more descriptive. From her perfectly natural tan to her subtle blonde highlights, her look screams (or rather huskily whispers) effortless chic - and her "uniform," as she describes it, is as simple as it is stylish.

"Jeans, they're the first thing," she listed. "Skinny, blue or black mostly; a loose top - so a silk blouse, a cotton shirt, a jumper, or a sweatshirt; some heels; a good bag. I could count on one hand the number of times that I wear something different from this! I love to be able to see everything when I open my wardrobe, which is one of the reasons I keep it so minimal."

Might the wardrobe-cleansing compulsion come from her mother - where most little girls learn their fashion rules, or see an example of what they later do not want to copy?

"My mother was definitely not a hoarder," Moizant said thoughtfully. "There are a few pieces that I remember her wearing that she still has: an Alaia suit from the Eighties with big, big shoulders - but otherwise no. She's similar to me. I have a few pieces that I wouldn't sell: certain pieces of jewellery; things that remind me of my children; a Chanel bag from years ago, but there are very few things I would say I feel sentimental about."

Fanny And Her Streamlined Wardrobe

Moizant has recently transported her entire life, including her two daughters, to London where her husband works - setting up a Vestiaire Collective office here on arrival. The more sentimental among us (not that anyone here would admit to having slept wearing a pair of shoes because she loved them so much) might ask about the impact of her sartorial cleanliness on those daughters, currently aged seven and eight. Won't they one day complain that her edited wardrobe cost them a one-off Dolce & Gabbana dress, or a limited-edition Dior clutch?

"No," she shrugged, smiling, "they'll have new things they'll want. One of them is a tomboy right now, although the other is a little more interested in fashion, but when they grow up they'll decide what they like without me, I'm sure!"

Far from producing the sort of angst that spending causes in the hearts of many of us, Moizant's shopping addiction is balanced by another addiction.

"If I'm looking over my bank statement alongside my husband and he says, 'Look, you spent this much, and this, and this!' I say, 'Yes, but have you seen the other column? I sold this, and this, and this, and this!'" she laughed. "That's the way I shop now. If I spent as much as I do without intending to sell them later, I'd feel so guilty, but because I know I'll make that money back in a few months I can buy what I love."