‘Given a chance, girls can change the world!
We always see them online or on TV, walking the most prestigious catwalks in the fashion world, smiling and taking pictures for social networks, so that we can all watch and feel part of their amazing lives. They seem to us so far away, like in another world, completely aside of the one we live in.
But this is really not true, as we had the chance to personally discover last Saturday, during our ‘expedition’ to one of the most awaited pop up stores in Paris. It all started in Berlin, shifted to London and finally launched in Paris. Our friends as well as us, could barely await for the opening of the Toni Garrn X Vestiaire pop up store, the top model clothing sale which took place here, in the amazing city of Paris.
You’re probably wondering why? What makes this event so special?
The answer is simple. This store contained iconic pieces donated by incredible women, belonging to the fashion world, ranging from Gisele Bündchen, Naomi Campbell, Kate Moss and many more. But this is not all, girls did not only buy clothes belonging to some of the most known models in the world: most importantly, they had the opportunity to participate to something way bigger and way more significant.
During the last year, in fact, Toni Garrn and Vestiere have started an extraordinary collaboration, in which 100% of the proceeds from the pop up store go to the Toni Garrn Foundation. During our visit to the pop up store, we had the privilege to meet Toni Garrn and asked her a couple of questions regarding her foundation and the different events in London, Paris and Berlin.
The aim of her foundation is to help young girls in Africa, as the majority of the girls are unable to write or read and are not aware of their simple human rights: this is why Toni has decided to help them, starting by donating some of her own clothes. “This pant is going to educate a girl for one year (one semester 50€) .That’s why I put so much energy and love into this because I know where it’s going. It’s really fun for everyone.” We were very curious to understand whether it was a project important to many or not, in the fashion industry; so when asked, she smiled straight away and replied “I’m super thankful because it was very easy to get the clothes. I’ve gotten great support. We have so much more. The hardest part is to get people to shop.” She also added that “Paris had the smallest and most sophisticated store, but we’re not raising much less here, because people actually buy something here”.
We all could not resist buying pieces ourselves. The entire store experience was fantastic. Toni Garrn herself was incredibly kind and warm and gave us some great fashion advice! Finally, as last question we asked what are the next steps for her foundation: “I want to raise more money, because I have so many plans for Africa and I want to support two more countries. I’m gonna move my projects to Rwanda and Burundi most likely […]” She further stated “I’m planning to do a lot of meetings next spring and find the right partners. I do dinners and galas all the time to raise more money. For now I will definitely continue the flee market. For me, my next steps are to get some sleep.” Today, she just announced she’s opening another pop up store in Madrid! We really wish her good luck and hope she will be able to fulfil the goals she has set for the foundation.
Flaminia von Grolman & Virginia Benazzo
