[Event] Thrift Chic Challenge Collection Styled by BEYUNIQUE at Eco Fashion Week

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[Event] Thrift Chic Challenge Collection Styled by BEYUNIQUE at Eco Fashion Week

I had a pleasure taking up on Thrift Chic Challenge presented by Value Village at Eco Fashion Week, which was to style a collection of ten different outfits with the budget of $500 in three weeks. It sounded intriguing, fun yet challenging as I am not quite accustomed to thrifting; however, I decided to go with the opportunity that knocked on my door to have fun and also showcase my style to broader audiences.

On March 30th, the challenge has begun. I went to Value Village on Hastings, picked up my gift certificate and then immediately started shopping. The result? I spent all of my alloted budget on that day. As I had the concept of the collection already developed, which is inspired by tennis and Seoul street style, finding stuff that fit into the theme came together quite easily. In addition, I wanted to create a collection that is wearable, trendy and now by curating items that don't look thrifted, old or dated which can be some of critical streotypes about thrift shopping.

I started putting the items together at home, then had my lovely friend, Rachel Samson, come over to be a fit model. She looked great in most of the outfits but I realized it was missing a little bit of young and sporty vibe. So, I made a few more trips to Value Village to tweak and improve that while reminding myself to shop for young, fun and sporty items. Luckily, I was able to find all the stuff that suit the theme better and complete my collection after five trips to Value Village.

It was challenging as the actual model fitting was a day before the show and to dress the models with limited time at the backstage; however, the show went well thanks to my dream backstage team, Jerome Insorio, Gian Carlo and Sarah Innes. I would like to thank everyone who came to the show and supported me, also all the people who made my collection go successfully. I am very grateful for the opportunity I was given by Myriam Laroche who is the founder of Eco Fashion Week. Also, I would like to thank all the Eco Fashion Week staff, volunteers, photographers and models.