Depop

Depop was founded in 2011 by Simon Beckerman, an Italian entrepreneur whose earlier ventures included the 1990s underground fashion magazine PIG and a glasses brand launched with his brother in 2006. He started Depop at an Italian technology incubator, building it as a marketplace app for buying and selling secondhand and vintage clothing directly between users, with a social-feed format closer to Instagram than a traditional listings site.

Within about a year, Beckerman moved from Italy to East London specifically to raise funding for the still-small platform, and the company formally relocated its headquarters to London in 2012 — a move made to put Depop inside one of the world's major fashion capitals and closer to a deeper investor network. Beckerman stepped down as chief executive in 2013 but stayed on the board, continuing to contribute to product and brand direction.

The platform went on to become closely associated with Gen Z resale culture — Y2K pieces, creator-run shops, and thrifted fashion — built around its London base even as its user community skews global. eBay acquired Depop in 2021 for approximately $1.2 billion, a deal frequently cited as a marker of the resale market's growth.