First it was vintage heavy metal T-shirts, then came leg warmers and Lycra. Now old cellphones have become the retro fashion accessory to be seen with.
Twenty years after Britain’s first cellphone call was made technology has leapt forward, but hipsters and homebodies alike are rejecting flashy new models in favour of tried-and-trusted phone favourites.
Retrofone, a new company hoping to cash in on the trend, believes many people are fed up with complicated modern handsets and want to stick with the “classic” late 1990s designs they are used to.
“Retro has always been fashionable to some extent. People are always looking backwards,” said Olly Tagg, who started the company after he found success selling old handsets on the auction website eBay.
“When you use an old phone you’re making a statement: I’m not with the main crowd, I’m slightly different.”
Rather than suffering from cellphone anxiety — embarrassment over the clunky look or large size of older handsets — a new generation of phone fanatics are using their antique handsets with pride.
“Most of these fashion things begin as an ironic flash in the pan and then end up being massive,” says Kevin Braddock, contributing editor of men’s style magazine GQ. “About five years ago phones stopped becoming a tool and became a way to express your personality. That means there is always going to be an appetite for phones that make you stand out.”
Although older handsets have a high kitsch value, many people prefer them because they are simpler to use and less expensive than new models.
Environmentally-aware phone users are encouraged by the idea that it is greener to recycle cellphones than to discard them. With networks offering regular handset upgrades to subscribers, one study has estimated that more than 105-million cellphones are thrown away each year in Europe alone.
Not only could rescuing an old phone from the scrapheap crank up your cool factor, it could also save lives — a single cellphone battery contains enough kidney-destroying cadmium to poison 600 000 litres of water.
“We actually contacted Oxfam about recycling,” said Tagg. “Now, every time we send a phone out, customers get a green bag so that they can send back their old brick and recycle it.”
The oldest cellphone Retrofone sells in bulk dates back to 1996, although earlier models are available to collectors and dedicated buyers.
The most popular model is the Nokia 7110, hugely popular four years ago but now supplanted by more advanced models. Its simplicity contrasts with the new 3G (third generation) phones that are able to download music and film clips and make video calls. — Â