Raid the closets of Naomi Campbell, Kate Moss and Gisele Bundchen with the help of Toni Garrn's new project with Vestiaire Collective

Do a search on Google for "fashion week street style" and chances are you will come across supermodels sporting their off-duty looks. They're effortlessly put together and can always be seen wearing the latest fashion, sometimes right off the runway. But one must wonder: where do all of these killer pieces go when these models are done with them, and what would it be like to raid Gisele Bundchen or Joan Smalls' wardrobes?  Enter luxury re-seller Vestiaire Collective, which German supermodel Toni Garrn recently partnered with for a special pop-up for charity featuring wardrobe pieces donated by her supermodel friends.

We spoke with Toni on the eve of the launch to talk about the cause she is supporting, as well as pieces we should keep our eye out for. 

 

Tatler Asia
Above Photo: Courtesy of Toni Garrn

Can you tell us about how you discovered Vestiaire Collective? What led to the partnership?

I've always wanted to host a global sale with an online presence, where everyone can shop and do something good at the same time. Vestiaire Collective is the perfect partner, as they sell vintage and pre-loved luxury clothes to their 6 million members all over the world.

With Vestiaire Collective, we knew we wanted to make the sale as big as possible and loved the idea of producing a t-shirt that represented the collaboration. Designer Bella Freud is a good friend of Vestiaire and we’re all so grateful that she agreed to help with the 'GIRL EMPOWER' slogan t-shirt, which is such a great message to send. 

You’ve been working with Vestiaire Collective to do Supermodel Flea Market pop-ups in New York City for the past two years. Is this the first time you're doing something digital with them? 

Yes, it is! The main reason I wanted to do a sale a few years back was because my closet was overflowing. You don't have a lot of storage space in New York and we are lucky enough to be gifted a lot of items through working in fashion. Many people around the world only have one t-shirt that they live in, so I thought that this would be the perfect opportunity to share and make a difference.

For this pop-up, I reached out to all of my friends and asked them to donate pieces from their wardrobes to be sold online and at the three pop-up shops in Berlin, London and Paris.  

See also: The Secret To Guilt-Free Luxury Shopping

 

Tatler Asia
Above Photo: Courtesy of Toni Garrn

Proceeds will go to your foundation, The Toni Garrn Foundation (founded in 2016) which supports education for young girls in Africa- can you tell us about this cause and how you got involved?

I've been supporting girls with Plan International for a couple of years now and visit them as much as I can. Last year, I launched my own foundation with an aim to help kids from all over the world. Currently, I am focusing on Africa. I fell in love with the continent a long time ago and saw, over just a couple of days, that the girls have huge potential yet aren't being treated equally.

100% of profits from this collaboration go to my next project, which is funding boarding houses on school sites for girls in Africa. These homes will enable girls to live on site and complete their education without the 14km walk to and from school every day, which often eventually leads to them dropping out. I’m super excited to see how many houses we can build with the money raised!  

Tatler Asia
Above Photo: Courtesy of Toni Garrn

You’ve been sponsoring children since you were 15 years old and you’ve been appointed an ambassador for Plan International’s global "Because I am a Girl" movement in 2014. What makes these causes so meaningful for you?

Going to school and learning how to read and write is basic human right. No girl can follow her dreams or even properly create them without education. It is so important that girls stay in school since for every year that a girl continues to go to school, her income in later life increases by 20%. If we can educate girls to know and understand their rights whilst in school, it can make a huge difference to their future.

You’ve enlisted the help of lots of your supermodel and Hollywood friends, and I’m sure you’ve seen a lot of the pieces that have been donated, can you tell us what were some pieces you were really excited to see on Vestaire Collective for this initiative?

There are so many, including some amazing pieces donated by Gisele—keep your eyes out for some amazing Isabel Marant trousers and a beautiful, brand new Versace dress. There's also a really cool Prabal Gurung jumper from Joan Smalls and a Levi's jacket from Karlie Kloss, which I really want to buy. Naomi Campbell sent an amazing white lace slip dress, which I love!

Unless someone is quicker than me, all of these pieces might end up in my closet.

What’s your opinion on the speed of the fashion industry nowadays? Do you think that’s creating a lot of waste in our industry?

Fashion has been "throw away" for so long, people are constantly needing the new season "it" pieces and forgetting the items in their wardrobes. I love the concept of Vestiaire Collective—that they are sustainable and encourage shopaholics to recycle and resell the pieces they aren’t wearing whilst showing them unique, rare and possibly sold out pieces. 

Mark November 2 in your diary for Toni's pop-up launch on vestiairecollective.com 

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