Authenticity in Chaos: Gen Z’s Dual Roles and Collective Meaning in Digital Luxury Resale

Digital resale platforms are transforming luxury consumption against the backdrop of what scholars describe as an era of marketing and chaos, marked by ecological instability, economic volatility, and eroding trust. Within this broader condition of disorder, these platforms emerge as micro-spaces where young consumers attempt to reintroduce coherence and interpretive stability through everyday exchange. This study explores how Italian Generation Z individuals navigate dual buyer–seller roles and co-create authenticity in second-hand luxury markets. Based on 12 in-depth interviews, findings reveal that buyers construct authenticity through experimentation, material evaluation, and narrative engagement, while sellers foreground ethical conduct, transparency, and relational alignment. These practices converge into mechanisms of collective authenticity—trust signals, shared expectations, and informal governance—that enable participants to make sense of and act within chaotic market environments. While resale does not eliminate macro-level disorder, it provides structured interactions where clarity, credibility, and meaning can be rebuilt. The study contributes to theories of authenticity and ethical consumption and highlights how resale platforms help young consumers negotiate their identities within turbulent social and market conditions.