Proceeds from fashion sale to go to charity
charity sale was first launched three years ago, establishing it’s base on a simple concept: re-selling donated fashion and accessories at extremely affordable prices to raise funds for charity; one person’s fashion discard becoming another’s bounty. However, the question then begged if there was a market for used apparel among fashion consumers in India, which was quickly answered when their entire stock of over 7,000 fashion apparel and accessories was sold out over one weekend.
“What started as a great idea quickly grew into something really big. We realised that people had a lot of clothes to donate, from barely used to brand new. The challenge at first was motivating the donors to drop off their contributions, however, once we started offering pick-ups, the scale grew quickly. From planning the sale in one of our living rooms, we ended up having to host it in a large restaurant space in Defence Colony that was also donated,” explains Mandavi Sharma, co-creator, The Vintage Affaire.
Garnering immense support and publicity following the success of the first sale, the stock increased to 10,000 pre-sorted fashion apparels in addition to branded accessories last year to over 15,000 pieces of apparel, as well as accessories and the new addition of household items this year – with everything being sold out every year.
What attributed to the success of the sale was the buzz across the social networks as well as media publicity, where not a penny was spent as promotional charges. Not only were two billboards donated, but also radio advertising, columns in the local paper, graphic designers and PR experts contributed their time towards the cause.
This year’s sale was kicked off with a fashion show where celebrities, bloggers and designers themselves walked the ramp in clothes donated by Indian design houses, where guests and mall shoppers covered over three floors to watch the show. The show was followed by a preview sale, which also sold out.
The Vintage Affaire is powered by The Angels Network, a small Delhibased group with a huge heart and is run entirely by volunteers. Every element of the sale is run by the volunteers themselves, from donation pick-ups to event management and promotions. The proceeds of the sale will go entirely to three charities: Dukh Bhanjan Trust, a medical overflow facility; Bouquet Of Sight, a vision care ‘gifting’ and Saksham Bal Vikas Sanstha, a non-profit school. Plans for the next Vintage Affaire (VA4) are already underway. Based on the scale and turnout of this year’s sale, the group will be arranging for a much larger space next time.