Dubai is one of the most fashion-literate cities in the world, but buying and selling pre-loved pieces here has long meant Instagram closets, WhatsApp groups and weekend markets. Roanne El Alaili built &Again to pull that scattered market into one app, with a simple promise: shop it, wear it, sell it, again and again.
A year in, &Again has passed AED 800,000 in gross merchandise value and sold more than 1,400 items. It runs two models side by side: a fully managed service where the team holds and authenticates influencers’ closets, and a peer-to-peer marketplace where anyone can list. That split is exactly where the legal questions sit. Who checks a designer bag is real? What happens when a brand objects to a listing? Who pays when a fake gets through? I asked Roanne how &Again handles all of it.
In this conversation:
- Why the UAE needed a pre-loved fashion experience, not just more listings
- How authentication works across managed closets and peer-to-peer listings
- Where legitimate resale ends and infringement begins
- Buyer protection, counterfeits and seller bans
- What the numbers say about UAE shoppers and circular fashion
Roanne El Alaili is a Dubai-based entrepreneur, creative director and founder of &Again, a social-first fashion resale platform redefining how the Middle East shops, wears and resells fashion. With over 15 years of experience across luxury, fashion, beauty and branding, she brings together creativity, innovation and business strategy to build brands and experiences that stand out. A passionate advocate for circular fashion and sustainability, Roanne is on a mission to make secondhand fashion more accessible, exciting and desirable.
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Read the conversation between Anuj and Roanne
Anuj: Take us back to the start of &Again. What was broken about buying and selling pre-loved fashion in the UAE that made you build an app for it?
Roanne: We live in one of the most fashion-savvy regions in the world, yet I felt there was a real gap when it came to pre-loved fashion experiences, both physical and digital.
What was missing wasn’t necessarily the appetite for secondhand fashion, but an experience that made it fun, inspiring, accessible and easy to use.
That’s exactly what we’re building with &Again. We want to make buying and selling pre-loved fashion feel as exciting and effortless as shopping new, with community at the heart of everything we do.
Anuj: “Shop. Wear. Sell. Again & Again” is a clean promise. What is hardest to deliver on in practice?
Roanne: I think the biggest challenge is patience. We’re building a new ecosystem for the region, and Rome wasn’t built in a day!
Of course, there are moments when I’d love to skip a few steps and move ten times faster, but that’s not how building a business works.
I wouldn’t necessarily say it’s hard. It’s about understanding the region, its cultural nuances, shopping behaviours and the little subtleties that make this market unique. As long as we keep our buyers and sellers at the centre of every decision, I believe we’re moving in the right direction.
Anuj: How do you handle authenticity? Walk us through what happens between a seller listing a designer piece and a buyer receiving it.
Roanne: We operate through two different models.
The first is our fully managed service for influencers and content creators, where we physically manage their closets. These items are in our possession, allowing our team to inspect them and authenticate relevant pieces using Entrupy.
The second is our peer-to-peer marketplace, where sellers list directly through the app. For high-value designer pieces, we currently handle authenticity concerns on a case-by-case basis, and we’re working on integrating Entrupy as an optional paid authentication service.
Ultimately, trust is everything in resale, especially when it comes to luxury, so we’re continuously developing ways to make the experience safer and more seamless for everyone.
Anuj: What are the rules you set for sellers on the platform, and which one did you learn the hard way?
Roanne: Our rules are simple: be honest, be transparent, and sell things you’d be happy to receive yourself.
Items need to be authentic, accurately described, in the condition advertised and photographed clearly. Any flaws should be disclosed upfront, and sellers need to respect their commitments once an item is sold.
One of the biggest lessons of building a marketplace is that everyone has a slightly different definition of “good condition.” What one person considers a tiny imperfection might be a dealbreaker for someone else.
That’s why we’ve learned that clear guidelines, transparency and managing expectations are just as important as the technology itself. At the end of the day, we’re building a community based on trust.
Anuj: Reselling branded goods sits in a grey area for a lot of founders. How did you work out what &Again could and could not allow listed, and did you take legal advice on it?
Roanne: From a curation perspective, our philosophy is pretty simple: if it’s fashion, it’s cool, and it’s in good condition, it has a place on &Again!
We’re not obsessed with price points or labels. A fabulous vintage find can sit right next to a luxury designer piece. What matters to us is the style, quality and personality of the item.
I also strongly believe that the brand sets the tone for the community. If you create a platform that feels inspiring, stylish and thoughtfully curated, people naturally respond by listing pieces that reflect that energy.
Of course, creative freedom still needs to sit within a clear legal framework. We distinguish between the legitimate resale of authentic, lawfully owned goods and listings that could infringe intellectual property rights. Counterfeits and misleading listings have no place on the platform.
Anuj: If a brand contacted you tomorrow saying listings on &Again infringe their rights, what is your process?
Roanne: We absolutely respect brands and their intellectual property rights. At the same time, we believe in the importance of circular fashion and giving authentic, legally owned pieces a second life.
Resale is fundamentally about extending the life of products that are already in circulation, not manufacturing or distributing unauthorised copies.
If a brand raised a concern, we’d review the specific listing, assess the nature of the complaint and take appropriate action, including removing a listing where necessary.
For us, it’s about striking the right balance between protecting intellectual property, respecting consumer rights and supporting a healthy resale ecosystem.
Anuj: What do you do with counterfeits that get through, and who absorbs the loss?
Roanne: Buyer protection is a big part of our model, which is why buyers pay a protection fee on transactions.
If an item is reported as counterfeit, we investigate the case, review the evidence and work toward a resolution. Where a counterfeit claim is validated, we protect the buyer and absorb the eligible loss under our buyer protection process.
We also look at the seller’s responsibility. If it’s a first incident and there’s no indication of deliberate misconduct, we may issue a warning. Repeated violations can lead to a permanent ban, while intentional fraud can result in immediate removal.
We’re building a community, but trust and accountability are non-negotiable.
Anuj: Resale is regulated differently across markets. What would you need to change to take &Again outside the UAE?
Roanne: Regional expansion is absolutely part of our vision, but we’re approaching it step by step.
Beyond understanding the regulatory requirements of each market, one of our biggest operational priorities will be cross-border logistics. Delivery costs, customs, returns and fulfilment need to make financial sense for both buyers and sellers.
We want to build an ecosystem where shopping pre-loved across borders feels just as easy as shopping locally.
The opportunity is huge, but we’d rather scale thoughtfully and get the experience right than rush into multiple markets without the right infrastructure.
Anuj: Circular fashion gets talked about more than it gets bought. What does your data actually show about how UAE shoppers behave?
Roanne: I’d actually have to disagree with that statement!
The moment you start paying attention to the secondhand ecosystem in the UAE, you realise just how much is already happening. From vintage sellers and Instagram closets to community markets and resale events, circular fashion is very much alive here.
The issue isn’t a lack of interest. It’s that the market is still incredibly fragmented, and that’s exactly the opportunity we see with &Again.
We’ve already generated over AED 800,000 in GMV and sold more than 1,400 items, which shows us that people aren’t just talking about resale, they’re actively participating in it.
Our ambition is to bring all these experiences together and become the go-to destination for pre-loved fashion in the region.
Anuj: What is next for &Again over the next twelve months?
Roanne: A lot, hopefully! We’re only a year old, so the dreams are big.
Our biggest priority right now is closing our funding round, which will allow us to accelerate growth and take &Again from an MVP to the full platform we’ve always envisioned.
That means improving the app experience, developing more of our tech features, expanding our reach and growing our community of buyers and sellers.
We’re also working toward creating a physical &Again space, part office, part showroom, part community hub, because I’ve always believed that the future of resale isn’t just digital or physical. It’s both.
Ultimately, the next twelve months are about laying the foundations to make &Again the reference for pre-loved fashion in the region, and making circular fashion a natural part of how people shop.
Find &Again: andagainandagain.com / Instagram @andagainandagain.app / App Store
For more of my conversations with the people shaping the business of fashion, read our interviews.
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