Re{fashion}er.com is an exclusive online couture clothing exchange created for women to trade, sell, buy, and essentially upcycle, their designer or vintage couture apparel and accessories. The invitation-only fashion site was founded by former Culture + Travel magazine editor, Kate Sekules.

Would be members must nab an invite in order to create an account. Once secured, members create a virtual closet, uploading photos of the apparel and accessories they wish to part with. Once assessing the the member’s closet, Re{fashion}er will price the items for sale or swap. The duds they don’t care for are discarded by site staff.

When an approved and priced item sells, the site gets a $5 transaction fee and the member receives a shipping label for the item. If the items sold/swapped aren’t of equal value, the site member will receive the balance as online credit for future transactions.

Want to swap your designer duds in the privacy of your own home? You can also do that! Your member profile can be as public or private as you like. After all, the site is the transactional middleman.

We give this site kudos for its fashionably conscious angle and making investment pieces in a girl’s wardrobe more accessible. We talked to Kate about the interesting marketing model of the site. Here’s the interview:

Macala Wright: I love the idea of digital couture clothing swaps via virtual closets; what was the epiphany or “Ah-Ha!” moment that lead to the  idea?

Kate Sekules: The Ah-Ha moment was when I was failing to get enough friends of similar style/taste/size/shopping habits to my latest live swap and realized nobody’s doing this. And I wanted to join it!

MW: You have another interesting twist on this — You’re an appraiser of the items that members upload. Why did you create this as part of your business model?

KS: The pricing (in site money–ReDollars) is totally essential. It enables us to pool the bounty, so nobody needs the “other half” of a swap. We’ve formed a complete micro economy that’s easy to use and fun! Also assigning real values is what provides the shopping high–you know you’re getting a steal when you see what it would cost in the real world… I wanted the site to mirror what I love about online shopping.

MW: What are your qualifications (authenticity, condition) for items you accept, and how do you price them?

KS: We need new or gently used condition, and we have zero tolerance for fakes. Older pieces are accepted on a case by case basis, and as long as the member flags any flaws, we might accept something that’s been a bit more heavily loved.

For our appraisals, we are dependent on photography, of course, so it’s up to the members to provide the clearest possible shots. This is a community where people post their personal pieces, along with their stories (optional, but very popular), and it’s pretty easy to sniff out any fakes (we actually haven’t had any fakes during the whole beta period –since March). The whole thing runs on trust, but you’d get found out in the first transaction if you’re trying to game the system. And since nobody’s making money, there’s not much incentive to do that anyway.

MW: Why do you reject certain things?

There are no hard and fast rules. We’re not looking for jeans, high street or super-casual, but we might accept any of those if they’re very special or directional or iconic (e.g., JPG for Target leggings, which were snapped up instantly). Mass brands are unlikely to make the cut, as are the kinds of things that end up on clearance at Bluefly or Century 21! A piece needn’t look straight from the runway, but it has to be vaguely modern and now and fresh.

Wanna learn more about the inspiration behind this fashionable start-up? Check out Fashion Project’s interview with Kate Sekules. Learn more about how re{Fashion}er works or follow them on Twitter @Refashioner.

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