For the past 2 years or so, alongside the growth of the local independent music scene, youngsters and hipsters around the country have become more and more fashion conscious. Dressing up is a must for weekend outings and being unique and individual is all the rave among youngsters, especially. At the same time, social networking sites took the world by storm and all of a sudden everyone is connected through someone, groups or events, anything! This exciting phenomena created a whole new opportunity for fashion addicts to venture into the fashion business – starting their own online boutiques, which is a total shopping haven for shopaholics and especially bargain hunters!
Online boutiques became so huge that some keen and passionate individuals started organizing fashion bazaars to gather all these online boutique owners at one place hence creating their own little ’shopping center’! Until today, the response towards fashion bazaars is still very overwhelming and to take you further into this subject, Hypptunes is happy to feature Deanna Ibrahim, the mastermind behind Threadszoo, one of the leading fashion bazaars around. We know you wanna know more, so read on…
Could you explain what Threadszoo is all about, for those who have not heard about it?
Threadszoo is a bazaar.
It has fashion, music and other unique stuff in it and may sometimes carry a unique cult too. We go by theme for every setup to add colors to it and not just remain as a normal bazaar. So it’s like a dressing party where you can shop at. The previous thematic one that we had was Happy Hippyz. We got almost everyone to dress up in hippy mode and it became a big gathering all at once.
Using humor in our campaign does add a little perk to it as well. I graduated in advertising and together with my partner, who majored in graphic design; we had our last campaign called BUY NOTHING DAY, an anti-protest on the international consumerism movement. In which, we forced everyone to buy something that day. Ha-ha…(check out http://thethreadszoo.blogspot.com for more info on this)
We welcome new products, styles or ideas and value ‘second hands’ so much that we want to play a role in being a paid recycling centre; a bazaar where you can find past seasons’ collections in the present. Just as everyone is on the fast pace on being trendy, there are people who are going backwards at the same time too. So here’s the best place to be!
How did u come up with the idea of Threadszoo?
I kept on buying things online and the items either did not fit me or did not appear exactly like the ones I saw on the screen. Blame my lousy screen for it, I guess. I wasted a lot on postage too and it was really a gambling game because after days of anticipation, it wasn’t what I have hoped for. Well it affected me because I talk, sleep, dream, drink, eat and think about it day in and out but in the end, it was a letdown.
So I thought of meeting them personally but on what ground do I do it? How do I go about it?
Now… that was how Threadszoo came about!
In regards of what can be sold at the bazaar, I gave it a thought that anything threaded can be sold there. After too much deep thoughts it got a little sidetracked by restrictions and got hay wired. It seemed like a zoo in my head. So there you have it, Threadszoo!
Share with us your experience in organizing your first ever Threadszoo bazaar…the ups and downs, challenges and accomplishments, people involved and etc.
Well, the first Threadszoo wasn’t that stressful and intense because it was targeted more to friends and family. It was actually more relaxed. It was really small, with about 10 vendors and we had fun as if we were in everyone’s room all at once. Trying out clothes and parading them – very cozy and private.
This first batch of vendors is like family to me and my family. We still keep in touch and have developed some sort of bond that is out of this world. One went on to study and came back and she’s very dear to me. I still keep in touch with the rest and they still join us from time to time. I think it’s probably because we spent too much time talking and getting to know each other at the event.
Do you have a fixed concept for Threadszoo? If not, how do you make each event different from the other?
I think the fixed guideline would be SECOND HAND! We love it so much and think that it should be appreciated. It holds so much value that it should be kept nicely and passed on to other people.
The theme varies according to the current trends. Or perhaps what we currently LIKE. It always tallies anyway. We believe it’s more effective if you do things that you like rather than trying to fit in.
In your opinion, which is the best Threadszoo event so far?
I don’t really do favoritism so far because each event means something to me. It is a brownie point of hard work and cooperation from the rest of the team and me. Every setup is unique and meaningful in its own way.
Vendors have their ups and downs too. Even though the crowd is flowing and the venue is good but if they don’t stand out, they just remain static there. It’s really hard to say.
In business we just have to keep on trying and mend things in order to make things better.
What do you do apart from managing Threadszoo?
Well at the moment, apart from handling Threadszoo I am venturing into the F&B business. A small, cozy cafe by the pool is really what I have dreamed about all this while – where families hang out and friends meet. I really appreciate these values because it’s permanent yet temporary. At least this is what we have left that is genuine and pure in this ‘techie’ world we live in.
Besides that, I do a bit of modeling, for both print and runway but they’re very seasonal so I’d rather make sure I have other things to do to keep me occupied and put my time to good use.
And on top of all that, I try my best to live life and appreciate every second of it. I try to be with my family, loved ones and my mom when she needs me and connect with myself when I have the time to do so.
You’re quite a fashionista yourself…so what is your personal style and where do you get your fashion inspirations from?
Oh, Thank YOU! I didn’t know I could get recognized for this!
I pretty much wear what I like or what I’d like to see on me. For example, I always imagine bumping into ‘myself’ and what I would think of ‘my outfit’. So in a way, what looks pleasant to my eyes will pass the test!
And I always got this thing about dressing up and etiquette. Let’s say that I will be out with the boys or alone or going to do things that require me to be a little aggressive, I wouldn’t wear a skirt on that day. Boyfriend’s stuff is on my priority list too, which means him buying for one instead of two. Thanks to him for being almost the same size as me.
For example, if I want to be taken seriously, I will wear a ‘basic’ with some details on it, that way, it makes me look ’serious’ and quirky at the same time…so, there’s yin and yang.
I think music does play a role in the kind of image that you are trying to portray because what you wear actually reveals the kind of person that you are. You hide it behind that fashion sense but you can’t hide the ensemble or the way you carry it, it will somehow look ‘wrong’.
I project what I feel through what I wear, be it girlish or boyish.
How do you think fashion bazaars are doing in Malaysia today?
I think they are doing pretty well because you can almost get anything right there at one place. There will be people selling beads and studs that you can’t find at boutiques you visit. Then you will find organic wares that you can’t find in department stores. There are also old books, past season stuff and locally made independent designers’/artists’ products all in one bazaar in a shopping mall. You don’t even have to walk far going through floor after floor.
It’s also a good platform for small scale young entrepreneurs, artists and fashionistas to grow as it requires very little overhead but produces great profit. They even get to brush up on their marketing and living skills to survive in the industry they are trying to dip their toes in. We are talking big scale here; they got to start somewhere and I think I have provided such a good hands-on-training for them.
After all, it doesn’t take a day to build Pavilion or ROME.
Share with us your dream Threadszoo event.
At the moment, my dream Threadszoo event would be back to the roots. Simple yet we would like to develop a closer relationship with our vendors rather than them just being participating vendors at the event. We would like to see our vendors as our friends; get together and have a barbeque and just networking, not really thinking about sales and get all stressed out at the booth. It’s more like a mingling session with some entertainment, talking about your products, food and music. At least you are out and everyone is having fun within the compound and educating each other – live ‘facebook-ing’ in a good ambient, not too noisy.
Lastly, what are your plans and hopes for Threadszoo in the near future?
The dream we have for Threadszoo is for it to be an extension of what we have always talked about. We are hoping to see it expanding to other categories as well and does not just stop at being a bazaar. We’d like to branch out – grow like a tree.
But the base, platform or the core of it remains the same, doing the things we like.
So is it working time or playtime now?
And of course, this might sound cliche and very ‘OSCAR’, but without the support from all of you, we may not be where we are today. So keep liking what we like because we believe we are not alone. Voice out what you have in mind, act it out. Share it with us because we were once or maybe still are just like you.
Here are some photos of previous Threadszoo events…
*all photos courtesy of The Threadszoo
So, if you’re interested to know more about Threadszoo or if you wanna participate in their events, visit http://thethreadszoo.blogspot.com and add them up on Facebook via The Threadszoo.
