Closet sales are everywhere these days, but few are as curated as the one that happened last Saturday by [Neu]Sette, a creative agency founded by Dugan Zier building the coolest community by organizing in-person experiences for emerging talent in fashion, art and music.
Called [Flee]Market, the friends and family closet sale was at SAA at 154 Scott Avenue in Brooklyn. The sellers — including Uglyworldwide, Martine Ali, Kai McPhee, Faith Harper, Many Omitto, Chantelle Thach, Bryan Jimenèz and César Buitrago — offered up everything from clothing and accessories to furniture and photographs from their personal collections.
As a part of the sale, [Neu]Sette also produced an editorial shot at WSA by César Buitrago, highlighting both all the sellers and some of their wardrobe being sold in three self-styled looks.
PAPER talked to Zier about what [Neu]Sette is all about, throwing one of the coolest closet sales in the city and what’s to come, below.
Would love to hear more about [Neu]Sette! Tell me more about some activations you've done and how they align with your mission.
The thesis behind [Neu]Sette is, by curating these experiences, we are amplifying the stories of the brands and artists who we see as the cultural pioneers of tomorrow. Key examples of this is "Vivid Imagination," an exhibition tour for the brand Head of State [that went to] New York, Paris and LA. Another example being, our production of House of Aama's latest runway show. We are likely most known for the introduction of SOUNDSYSTEM, another collaboration with Head of State. Soundsystem is a touring concert series that so far has taken place in Brooklyn, Paris and Brooklyn again, with the goal to expand the series to London, Lagos, Cape Town and Tokyo within the next few years.
In activating across these various cultural pillars [like] art, fashion and music, we are creating an authentic network of people who have begun to trust [Neu]Sette's curation and know that when we partner with a brand or artist there will be an alignment with their values.
What motivated you to specifically do the closet sale/flea market?
Key to [Neu]Sette's practice is studying existing concepts and tweaking them to make them our own. In this case we were looking at the traditional model of a flea market and really identified with the sustainability element. That was the main driving force behind it. We know that overconsumption and waste is a huge issue in fashion so we wanted to use our platform and resources to add to the conversation by putting pre-owned items as the main focus of the sale.
Another motivation was the community aspect. The casual, conversational tone of a flea market intrigued us. I have a background as a retail associate, and one thing I've always despised is how precious high-end shopping can feel. So we wanted to put these coveted items in a far more relaxed setting to see how our community would react.
How did you decide who you wanted to participate?
At its core, the sale was for friends and family. So we selected sellers that are just that to [Neu]Sette. Each seller represents a subsection of our community. Also, their merchandise covered various categories. For instance, Chantelle, Uglyworldwide, Kai, Faith and Manny were truly selling their closets in comparison to Bryan and Martine, who mostly had items from either their most recent or next collections available. And lastly, César was strictly selling one-of-one prints of his favorite work.
What can we expect from your next iterations?
Our goal is to expand the [Flee]Market as a concept. Both in terms of the number of sellers, as well as going on the road with it. Some of our target locations for the next year are LA, Miami and Paris.
Creative direction: Dugan Zier and Ruja
Art direction: Justin King
Photography: César Buitrago
Styling: Manny Omitto and the sellers
Photo assistant: Lulu Bernard
BTS: Uyi Omorogbe
Production: [Neu]Sette, Trees Depuydt, Meztli Castro Asmussen, Saam Shojaie
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