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[Interview] Sustainable Fashion with John Hickling of Glass Onion
From a Barnsley coal shed to the forefront of sustainable fashion, John Hickling’s Glass Onion Vintage has become a leader in the second-hand retail revolution.
Known for its creativity and passion, the brand inspires consumers with quality vintage pieces and won the British Fashion Council’s Changemakers Prize in 2021. In this interview, John shares how a passion for vintage turned Glass Onion into a driving force for change in the UK’s fashion industry.
It’s great to sit down with you John. Can you take us back to the very beginning? How did it all start?
Thanks, it’s great to be here. Glass Onion started back in 2005. I was just a kid then, selling vintage clothes from my grandma’s coal shed in Barnsley, South Yorkshire. I used to trawl charity shops in Sheffield and Barnsley, picking out around fifty pieces at a time, putting together little collections, and selling them on eBay. It wasn’t long before I realised I could turn this passion into something bigger. That’s when I started looking for ways to source more clothing, and the whole thing just snowballed from there.
It’s incredible how you’ve gone from that small start to where you are now. What were some of the key steps in Glass Onion’s growth?
It’s been a wild ride, honestly. After selling on eBay and doing the rounds at market stalls and university fairs, I realised there was a huge demand for vintage clothing, but not everyone could find the stock. That’s where the idea of wholesaling came in. I started supplying retailers who wanted to try their hand at vintage, and before long, we were moving from my grandma’s shed to our first warehouse. The business just kept growing, with more warehouse moves, festival pop-ups, and eventually, in 2019, we opened our first physical store in Sheffield.
One of the things that we started was the now famous vintage kilo sales. We came up with the idea because we had more stock than we could sell through our usual channels and needed a way to move larger volumes of clothing to increase our buying power. Our first kilo sale took place in a church in Leeds, and we had five hundred people show up. It was a massive success, and we quickly realised that there was a real gap in the market for affordable, sustainable fashion. Vintage events have since become a staple of our business, with our Pop-Up events touring across the UK, making vintage clothing more accessible to a broader audience.
You’ve mentioned that sustainability is at the core of what you do. Can you tell us more about how Glass Onion approaches this?
Sustainability has always been a huge part of our mission. Every piece of clothing we sell was destined for landfill. We process around 20,000 kgs of second-hand clothing every week at our HQ in South Yorkshire. In 2016, we took things a step further by setting up our in-house remade factory, where we recycle damaged and unwanted clothes into new, wearable pieces. Our factory produces up to 10,000 remade items a month, and our team has over 600 years of combined experience in the sewing industry. We want to make sustainable fashion accessible and affordable on the high street.
It’s clear that Glass Onion is much more than just a vintage retailer. How have you seen the demand for vintage and sustainable fashion evolve over the years?
There’s definitely been a boom in demand, especially from the 18-34 age group. They’re looking for something unique, affordable, and sustainable. For the older crowd, it’s more about finding those one-of-a-kind statement pieces. We’ve noticed that shopping for vintage brings back that social element that’s been lost in modern retail. People come in with their friends, try things on, and make a day of it. It’s not just about buying clothes; it’s about the experience.
Since opening your first retail store in Sheffield, what are some of the key learnings so far?
Opening a retail store was a big step for us, especially since we’d primarily been wholesalers and behind the scenes for so long. One of the first things we learned is just how much you can impact someone’s day through customer service. When you’re on the shop floor, you’re not just selling a product—you’re creating an experience. We’ve found that by offering great products and excellent service, we can make someone’s day, and that’s incredibly rewarding.
We’ve also learned a lot about the retail market itself. Being directly in front of customers has given us insights that we didn’t have before, like understanding what people are really looking for in vintage clothing and how we can better meet their needs. It’s also helped us see the importance of creating an inviting and enjoyable shopping environment. We want our stores to be places where people want to spend time, not just shop quickly and leave.
Another key learning is the importance of adaptability. The retail landscape is always changing, and we’ve had to stay flexible and open to new ideas. Whether it’s experimenting with store layouts, introducing new product lines, or even just listening to customer feedback, we’ve realised that being adaptable is crucial to staying relevant and successful in retail.
You’ve had some incredible finds over the years. Is there one that stands out to you?
Last year, our team found an Indigenous jacket that we believe is over 170 years old. It was mixed in with a batch of jackets from the USA, and it’s likely Métis from the Red River Region of Canada. The craftsmanship is incredible, and it’s in great condition considering its age. We’re still researching its history, and we plan to return it to the community it came from soon. It’s finds like these that make our work so rewarding.
That’s an amazing story. Finally, what’s next for Glass Onion?
We’re always looking to grow and improve. This year, we opened a new pop-up store in Meadowhall, Sheffield, which had an incredible opening weekend. We’re also continuing to expand our pop-up events across the UK. Our goal is to keep pushing the boundaries of what’s possible in sustainable fashion. We want to make it easy and enjoyable for people to shop sustainably, whether that’s online, in our stores, or at one of our pop-ups. It’s an exciting time, and we can’t wait to see where we go next.
