Inside Second Life Markets with Co-Founder Stella Brackenridge
- Daria Slikker
- 4 minutes ago
- 5 min read
What began as a garage sale in suburban Perth has grown into an international network of carefully curated vintage markets. Founded by Stella Brackenridge and Meg Charnaud, Second Life Markets brings together independent sellers, collectors, and communities through events that celebrate pre-loved fashion and the stories behind it.
Since launching in the UK in 2023, the markets have become a regular fixture in East London, transforming studios, heritage sites, and repurposed industrial spaces into vibrant, temporary hubs. Alongside racks of vintage clothing, many events feature food, drinks, and live entertainment – turning what might once have been a simple shopping experience into something more social and immersive.
As the project has expanded across the UK, Australia, and into Asia, Second Life Markets has also moved beyond physical spaces. With the introduction of Storage, its online platform, the ethos of curated, second-hand discovery now extends globally, connecting buyers with independent sellers year-round.
The core idea remains rooted in something simple: giving clothes, and the communities around them, a second life.
We spoke to co-founder Stella Brackenridge about the origins of Second Life Markets, building a community across cities, and how vintage culture is evolving both online and offline.
Second Life Markets began as a small garage sale in Perth. What was the turning point where this could grow into a global vintage platform?
When we started it, it was a bit of fun with friends. It has completely outgrown our expectations. At our first event in 2019, we had this line around the block just from all 15 of us sharing it on Instagram, and I remember being shocked yet motivated by the turnout – I definitely felt something special right away. At the start of 2022, I moved to Sydney and introduced it to Australia’s East Coast, and once we felt acceptance in other cities, I was confident this could be bigger than just Australia. At the time, I didn’t know of anything similar to Second Life and what we were doing. It was never supposed to be our careers, but something we spontaneously created, fell in love with and took all the way.
Bringing the concept from Australia to the UK in 2023 was a big leap. What challenges surprised you most when launching in London?
I think it was getting people to trust me and sell with me. In Australia, you kind of know people that work in and around your industry, especially something as insular as fashion – you have a network. When I moved, I knew nobody in the vintage space personally, and nobody knew me or Second Life Markets. I had to start again. I spent a year studying… going to every pop-up, booking showroom appointments, visiting shops, going to carboots. I got a job working a stall at Portobello market and another job in Brick Lane underground market. I talked to everyone. When I was ready to launch Second Life here, it was a new concept started by a person with no connections that I had to really work people to be a part of. Now these are my people, my best friends and my personal community. I am so grateful to London for welcoming me and I am doing everything through this business to support it back.
The markets are known for their unique venues from heritage sites to repurposed depots. How important is space to the overall experience you’re trying to create?
The space is SO important to the brand. I’m not trying to make Second Life a flea. I want it to be a curated experience, where people can come and find things they have never seen in real life before, elevate their personal style, and take risks and get inspired. We bring together so many different vintage brands/small businesses from across the UK and Europe, and we want to showcase them in a special space that values the quality of the garments and the sellers commitment to preserving fashion history and branding their taste.
You’ve expanded across Australia, the UK and Asia while staying rooted in local sellers. How do you balance global growth with maintaining that local, community-driven feel?
My founding partner Meg is still based in Australia, and longtime Second Life boss Nadia is based in Malaysia and I am here in London. These events are personal because we are so presently involved in our regions. Instead of dividing up the company roles by skills, we’ve divided our responsibilities by region. We share a lot of the same skillset amongst the three of us, and we all want to participate in the same things, so I guess through our passion and where we want to live, we have expanded geographically. Divide and conquer! I truly don’t believe we would’ve had the same success without us physically stationed and managing our regions.
Storage, your curated online marketplace, takes Second Life Markets beyond physical events. What gap were you trying to solve with Storage and how does it complement rather than replace the in-person markets?
We spend a lot of time working around small businesses in this industry. Post-Covid, there was a massive boom of online resale, with young entrepreneurs building entire vintage businesses on platforms like Depop. By 2025, when their businesses and the popularity of resale grew, we noticed many resellers in our London community shifting towards physical selling; renting showrooms, storefronts, pop-up stores and participating in markets like ours, due to the fact that there isn’t a space for vintage businesses online. All resale sites are peer-to-peer, with a mass upload approach (eg. Vestiaire boasting 25,000 new items a day) which is just overwhelming. We are proudly the first ever business-to-consumer resale site, championing small businesses and bringing them together to reach a global audience. In-person selling will never go away – I, for one, always like to try stuff on because I don’t have a typical figure. But if I am in London and my favourite vintage store in New York has a pair of Prada shoes in a 39, I will be tapping.
With upcoming markets happening simultaneously in London and Perth, followed by Brisbane and the Gold Coast, what’s next for Second Life Markets in 2026 that you’re most excited about?
2026 is about diversifying. We recently just launched Second Life Sport in Sydney, to connect with the rise in popularity of vintage sportswear. We have seen more vintage stores specialising in 90s and 2000s sportswear and people ditching the new matching polyester sets. Building on that specialisation with focus points, like we did with Second Life Archive. We want to create different experiences within our regions, and continue to build up the Second Life brand and champion all the customers and businesses involved.
