"Love Island" will be back on our screens on June 6 [1] as a new batch of singletons get ready for eight weeks of romance, recoupling, and red hot drama. [2] While finding their 'type on paper' might be at the heart of the show, it's known for serving some fierce fashion, too.
This year, in a surprising twist, the show has dumped fast-fashion partnerships, like previous sponsors I Saw It First and Missguided, in order to couple up with the more eco-friendly option, eBay. [3] For "Love Island" 2022, celebrity stylist Amy Bannerman has instead created tailored styling boxes for each Islander as well as a shared wardrobe of preloved clothes for them to wear throughout the show.
Designer labels including Moschino, Saint Laurent, and Prada have been sent to the Majorcan villa ahead of the new series – including a Versace dress from the same collection as that famous palm-print J Lo dress. [4] And, while I'm expecting to see these mixed with high-street labels, buying preworn items not only extends their lifespan, reducing the amount of clothing going to landfill, but should help to slow down the rapid rate of production, too.
Looking for ways to shop more sustainably [5] is essential. Oxfam reported that 13 million items of clothing go to UK landfills weekly, but there are ways you can contribute to the circular economy. Last year, thanks to eBay, 17,770 tons of fashion items – the equivalent of 1,404 double-decker buses – were saved from this fate.
Preloved fashion is on the rise, with the online marketplace seeing one fashion sale every second so far in 2022, and partnering with "Love Island" will open up conversations around our shopping habits further. According to eBay, a fifth of Brits now buy more second-hand items than they did two years ago. And people aged 18-34 are leading the way with on average 22 per cent of their wardrobes being preworn compared to just 12 per cent for those over 55. Saving money, helping the planet, and wanting something original all topped the list for reasons to swap to preloved, and now "Love Island" is encouraging more of us to get in on the action.
I have been on the preloved bandwagon for a while. My first job at age 14 was working weekends (on a volunteer basis) in an Age UK charity shop. So, coupled with my lockdown love of eBay, I have become somewhat of a pro for sourcing preloved gems. I'm excited to see the Islanders individual style take precedent this season, but just how easy is it to emulate typical "Love Island" looks via eBay? I set out to create three outfits with a budget of just £50. Scroll through to see what I found.
"Love Island" Clothes: Coupling Up
Inspired by Shaughna Phillips's entrance outfit in season six, I pulled together a similar look for just £27.
The fuchsia pink blazer dress was preworn but seemed like new from Missguided. Originally costing £45, I bagged it for £10 and loved the fit, the colour, and the girlboss vibes. The shoes were unworn from New Look and cost me £6 even though the £23 price sticker was still attached, meaning I saved an impressive £41 overall on the outfit.
The main thing to watch out for with eBay is the postage costs. The items alone cost £16, with first-class postage for the two items coming to £11. Many sellers add extra fees onto the postage to account for packaging and the time spent taking the item to the post office, so it's worth keeping an eye on the postage options.
I loved the boldness of this look, and both items were clean, unmarked, and exactly as described on the listing.
"Love Island" Clothes: Day Date
While the Love Islanders swimwear won't be sourced from eBay this season, I wanted to see exactly what swimwear options were on offer on the site and was pleasantly surprised. There's a huge range of options across a wide range of sizes, including preworn, unworn, and brand-new pieces from both individual sellers and retailers – yes, you can also shop new clothing direct from retailers on eBay, too.
Inspired by Liberty Poole's final date outfit from season seven – a white swimsuit and white lace trousers totalling £80 from I Saw It First – I set out to recreate it, saving £58 in the process. And now I have a great poolside look.
Opting for a preworn one-shouldered swimsuit from Shein costing £8 and unworn white lace trousers from Missguided costing £5, I was again stung with a high postage bill. But this is where the beauty of the eBay community came in. The trousers seller actually posted the item out with next-day delivery, at a much higher cost, and didn't charge me any extra at all.
"Love Island" Clothes: Voting Off
Inspired by season seven winner Millie Court's yellow cut-out dress, I went on the hunt for the bright hue but found when looking for something quite specific, in this case 'size 8 tight yellow dress', the options were limited. But, with perseverance, I did manage to find one in the end.
I got into a bidding war on this one and ended up with a 20 per cent discount off the original listing price. Even better! This dress was listed as marked and had images to prove it on the site, but I was still surprised to see just how large the mark was on the front of the dress – forever an optimist. Reading the descriptions and studying the images is definitely important when buying preloved items.
Costing £6, the dress was preworn from Boohoo, and I paired it with Kurt Geiger snake-print wedges costing £10. This look felt peak "Love Island", I just needed a white-wine glass to accessorize!
"Love Island Clothes": The Verdict
When it comes to "Love Island" clothes, the options on eBay were endless. Sadly, I didn't quite manage to keep to the budget of £50, largely due to the annoyingly high postage costs. Yet spending £74 for all three outfits, and knowing that I have saved them heading to landfill, is still a better — and cheaper — option than buying brand new from the retailers.
And there are ways to keep the costs down. Firstly, opt for second-class postage. It's cheaper, although it will take longer to arrive, and if you like a few items from the same seller, you can always ask them to post multiple items together. In my experience, you will usually receive a discount or, at least, cheaper shipping costs.
Secondly, you can either choose to 'buy now', securing the item immediately at, often, a higher price, or you can get into a bidding war and try to score yourself a discount with the auction option, which I did successfully with the yellow dress.
It is important to stress that, with a strict budget, the items I secured were still from typical fast-fashion retailers, which are not deemed sustainable businesses. But, if you are on a budget and are after these brands, then buying them preloved, even if they are still unworn, is a more eco-friendly option.
I love the looks that I secured and hope that this "Love Island" and eBay partnership is a turning point for fast-fashion fans and that we all consider pre-loved clothes as a stylish option for our own summer wardrobes.